WASHINGTON POST

January 18, 2006

Mexico Wants U.S. To Investigate Slaying

Migrant Was 2nd Killed Within a Month

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico demanded Tuesday that U.S. authorities investigate the fatal shooting of another undocumented migrant by U.S. security agents, fueling a bilateral dispute over illegal immigration.

Ismael Segura, 23, was shot in the chest by security agents in Texas over the weekend after he resisted arrest and tried to flee in a car. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, Mexican authorities said.

It was the second killing of a Mexican migrant by U.S. security forces in less than a month.

Guillermo Martinez, 18, was shot by U.S. border guards on Dec. 31 as he sneaked across the border near San Diego, prompting a complaint by Mexican President Vicente Fox.

"It hurts us, it angers us and we reject any measure that threatens people's human rights," said Carlos Abascal, the interior minister.

U.S. and Mexican officials have been exchanging barbs since the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill last month to put up additional barriers along the border and to make illegal migration a felony.

Fox has compared the planned border fence to the Berlin Wall, a comparison U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said last week was disingenuous, intellectually dishonest and offensive.

Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez responded Monday by saying that Garza's comments showed that U.S. officials were embarrassed by the criticism.

Mexico has accused the Bush administration of foot-dragging on a comprehensive immigration accord, which has soured relations in recent months.

Thousands of Mexicans and other Latin Americans cross the 2,000-mile border illegally every day in search of work in the United States.

Each year hundreds die of thirst or exhaustion attempting to cross rugged terrain.