Fox visit could give state a surplus of good will

For the second time in two months, Washington has a chance to show the rest of the country what a self-serving yet enlightened approach to international affairs looks like.

The occasion will be a visit by Mexican President Vicente Fox, who will be a guest of Gov. Chris Gregoire Thursday in Yakima and Friday in Seattle. Because his visit coincides with the cresting of U.S. Senate debate over immigration policy, there will be particular attention paid, just as there was in April when Chinese President Hu Jintao came calling.

Hu’s stopover on his way to Washington, D.C., was a coup. State business and political leaders had a unique opportunity to discuss trade issues with the leader of a rapidly emerging global economic power. Hu stopped at the Boeing Co. plant in Everett and the Microsoft Corp. campus in Redmond, and supped with Chairman Bill Gates. And what coffee roaster would not give up his espresso machine for the chance to hand Hu a cup of coffee, as Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard Schultz did.

Hu journeyed on to the White House, where he was practically ushered in the back door. His stay in the District went off almost as badly as his trip to Washington went well. Makes you wonder whose calls Hu returns first these days; President Bush’s, or Gov. Gregoire’s?

Now comes President Fox, leader of another nation with which Washington has valuable relationships, trade and otherwise. In 2005, Mexico imported almost $1 billion in Washington-made goods, from airplanes to apples. Fruit sales, in fact, accounted for almost $100 million of that total.

But Washington orchardists rely more on Mexico as a source of labor than as a source of sales. And that, or course, is where all the controversy over immigration kicks in. It takes 26,000 workers to harvest cherries in June, 40,000 to pick apples in October. Without temporary help, millions of dollars worth of fruit would rot, and a cornerstone of the state’s agricultural economy with it. Much of that labor is Latino. Some workers are in the state just during the harvest, many year-round.

An estimated 500,000 Washingtonians are Latino. More than 10,000 live in Spokane County.

In Yakima, where the population is one-third Latino, Fox will have an opportunity to meet with community leaders. Gregoire says she is particularly intent that Fox see what the state is doing to enhance living conditions for workers who may be in the area only for the harvest. It would be good if Fox gets to see more than a few showcases, and talks with community members free to talk about grievances as well as accomplishments.

Washington should have nothing to hide. The governor and members of the state’s congressional delegation have, for the most part, supported the “rational middle ground” staked out by President Bush. Although Rep. Cathy McMorris voted for a draconian House bill long on border security and short on most everything else, she has indicated she would be open to reform closer to that being debated in the Senate after an overdue endorsement from the president.

Barring something unforeseen, Fox should leave Washington with a sense of good will toward a state open to strong relationships with Mexico.

He should also leave the state, and the nation, with a stronger sense of how Mexico will respond to a likely new era in cross-border relations, assuming the House and Senate can reconcile their very different legislative visions. Cooperation will go much further towards resolving the challenges ahead than confrontation. Distributing maps to emigrants, no matter whether the intent is humanitarian, is not productive. Addressing more earnestly the dismal economic and education environments that drive so many north would be.

It is unfortunate that the immigration debate has been as ugly as it has. So, too, has some of speculation about the nature of our future relationship with China. Washington did a good job setting itself apart and above those discussions when Hu stopped by. Fox’s two-day tour could be, and should be, a repeat.