Pact Aims to Help Mexicans Living in Rural Parts of United States
U.S.-Mexico partnership expected to help eligible Mexicans buy homes
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Eligible Mexicans in the United States will have access to U.S. rural development programs under a new partnership agreement signed by the U.S. and Mexican governments.
The agreement, announced May 13 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), expands access to the U.S. programs to underserved communities in need, especially the Hispanic community, in the United States.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, who signed the agreement for the United States, said his agency "looks forward to continuing to work with Mexican authorities to enhance outreach to the Mexican community." He added that expanding access to USDA programs, especially to the Hispanic community, is a priority for the Bush administration.
Among its attractions, the U.S. rural development programs will provide loans and grants to eligible Mexicans (those in the United States legally) to purchase a home. Luis Derbez, Mexico's foreign affairs secretary, who signed the agreement for his country, said the U.S. programs contribute to the "enhanced well-being of eligible Mexicans who would otherwise not be able to own a home or improve their living conditions."
The USDA said the agreement is a component of its initiative to provide outreach to a wide range of immigrant communities, senior citizens, and the working poor. The agreement specifies that the Mexican embassy and Mexican consulates in the United States will distribute information on USDA rural development programs, including program eligibility criteria and the benefits of rural development programs.
In addition, the United States and Mexico plan to collaborate on community-based activities and events benefiting Mexican-Americans, Mexican nationals working within the United States, and migrant communities situated in U.S.-Mexican border and rural areas and in many metropolitan areas throughout the United States.
The USDA programs promote economic development in rural areas by offering support for water and sewer systems, housing, health clinics, emergency service facilities, and electric and telephone service.
The programs also support loans to businesses through banks and community-managed lending pools, and offer technical assistance and information to help agricultural and other cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their member services.
President Bush says that while more and more people own homes in the United States, fewer than half of all Hispanics in the country are homeowners. At an October 2002 White House conference on minority home ownership, the president set a 2010 goal of increasing the number of minority homeowners in the United States by at least 5.5 million families.