Mexicans

Lomas de Chapultepec, a neighborhood of huge homes behind high stone and brick walls, wakes up each morning to the sound of sweeping. As the dawn's dark fades to light, servants emerge from behind gates and, with witches' brooms, brush away the leaves and twigs and lavender jacaranda petals that have fallen overnight. Maids in pastel uniforms, security guards, gardeners and chauffeurs — these are the public denizens of this super-rich enclave. The actual homeowners and permanent residents are rarely seen.

Ventura County supervisors unanimously agreed Tuesday to accept a Mexican-issued identification card as valid ID for residents conducting business at county government offices. "It really makes me proud of the board to see this vote," said board Chairman John Flynn, who brought the proposal to his colleagues. Flynn's Oxnard-based district has the county's largest immigrant population.

Gov. Brad Henry commuted the death sentence of a convicted murderer from Mexico to life without parole Thursday in a case in which state and foreign officials alike said the inmate's life should be spared. The move came as the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals voted 3 to 2 to give Osbaldo Torres, 29, an indefinite stay of execution. It granted Torres' request for a lower-court hearing on the state's failure to inform him of his right to contact the Mexican consulate after his arrest.

A Mexican national suspected of involvement in a shootout in which a National Park Service ranger was killed was charged with transporting bullets into the U.S. U.S. Magistrate Bernardo Velasco ordered Dionicio Ramirez Lopez, 20, held after he waived a preliminary hearing in Tucson.

Police here will accept a national identification card from Mexican citizens stopped by officers. Police Chief Jerry Dyer and Mexican Consul Jaime Paz y Puente endorsed a "memorandum of understanding" on Thursday that had been a year in the making. They called it a major step toward better communication with Mexican nationals -- especially crime victims.

Authorities are searching for the family of a 12-year-old Mexican girl who said she was kidnapped and raped after being dropped off in the San Fernando Valley three weeks ago. The girl told authorities that she and her mother were separated at the border after they were smuggled into California from Mexico. She said the smuggler, who brought her to the Los Angeles area, dropped her off at a Valley fast-food restaurant.

Mexicans living abroad sent more than $4 billion home in the first quarter, a 20% increase over the same period a year before, the Bank of Mexico said. The remittances, the majority from migrants living in the U.S., are Mexico's second-largest source of foreign income after oil.

Mexicans who make short trips across the border and have passed security checks will be allowed to visit the United States for up to 30 days instead of the current three-day limit, U.S. government officials said. The 30-day limit will be available to Mexicans who hold so-called laser visas, which require background checks and other security measures, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) confirmed. The Homeland Security Department declined to comment.

Re "Mexico, Fair-Weather Friend," by Gregory Rodriguez, Opinion, Oct. 14: Mexico's tepid support of the U.S. at this time of crisis should come as no real surprise. Mexico has never viewed the U.S. as a friend, much less an ally. The U.S. has never been anything but a pressure-release valve for Mexico's disenfranchised indigenous Indian and mestizo population, which Mexico is happy to export. The upper-caste descendants of the Spaniards who currently rule Mexico are delighted to see their impoverished native populations flock to El Norte, where they get employment, free education and medical care and, what's more, then send their meager earnings back to Mexico.

Why do people pretend that there is something exotic about Chicanos? The Mexican peasant from Zacatecas who brought his family over here and is now working in a factory, his kids in school, has not turned into something weird. There is no difference between any of us--our ancestors are Marti, Bolivar and Hidalgo. Sorry, but just because Ronnie Garcia speaks little Spanish does not make his ancestor George Washington. The reason it is all so very confusing, of course, is that some of these Mexico City high-lifers have come to have a good time and make money and relate only to that part of the powers that be that will pay attention to them.