PHARR, Texas (AP) — Illegal Mexican immigrants had
                        high hopes last summer of receiving amnesty from the U.S.
                        government. But now, after September 11, the cause seems
                        lost amid clamped-down border security and greater
                        suspicion of foreigners.
                             Months ago, President Bush had signaled a commitment
                        to grant legal status to undocumented Mexicans, perhaps
                        through a guest worker program linking employer with
                        employee.
                             By November, though, U.S. officials were telling Mexico
                        that because of fears of terrorism, the immigration laws are
                        unlikely to change anytime soon.
                             "Right now we certainly are in what could best be
                        described as a lull," said Bill Weinberg, spokesman for Rep.
                        Luis Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat.
                             A bill pushed by Mr. Gutierrez would legalize immigrants
                        who could prove U.S. residence since 1996. (The current
                        cutoff is 1972.) By 2007, that entry date would be 2001. The
                        bill has 45 sponsors, and immigrants rights groups had been
                        planning a rally and lobbying day on Sept. 25 in Washington.
                        After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the demonstration
                        was canceled at Mr. Gutierrez's request.
                             Another action would have extended an expired program
                        that had allowed some immigrants who entered the United
                        States illegally or had overstayed their visas — mostly those
                        with spouses who were here legally — to pay a $1,000 fine
                        and apply for residency without having to leave the country.
                             The extension was dropped from a bill that passed the
                        House last Wednesday.
                             "There was a lot of hope, a lot of optimism in our
                        community," said Benjamin Prado, coordinator of San
                        Diego's La Raza Rights Coalition. "Now the situation has
                        changed dramatically."
                             For opponents of more open immigration, the attacks
                        have helped them make their case.
                             "Mexico is into this 'respect' business — we have to
                        respect them, they don't want to be looked down on. But
                        we're entitled to have our borders respected," said Dan Stein,
                        president of the Federation of American Immigration Reform,
                        which argues that unfettered immigration is harming the
                        economy.
                             Legal status would allow many immigrants to cash
                        paychecks, drive cars and stop hiding.
                             Their lack of papers can mean furtive lives, intermittent
                        work and low wages.
                             "If you don't have papers, they pay you less and they treat
                        you badly," Juan Hernandez, 28, a bus driver from Tijuana,
                        Mexico, said bitterly.
                             Many say that their labor is needed here, and that they
                        should be respected for contributing to the economy.
                             Rosa Guzman, 29, from Alamo, Texas, wants a job in a
                        supermarket or a Wal-Mart, and maybe someday her own
                        little store.
                             She said she sees the help-wanted signs all the time but
                        knows it is pointless to apply.
                             "The first thing they ask for is the Social Security card,"
                        Miss Guzman said.
                             For now, the single mother of four stays home, sometimes
                        earning money by selling tamales to neighbors.
                             Manuel Ortega, 47, wants a state certificate showing he
                        has been trained in welding. He said he could obtain that
                        certificate in a few hours of course work if he were legal.
                             "The system forced me to do this," Mr. Ortega said,
                        unfolding a years-old crumpled pay stub with the Social
                        Security number he bought for $80 in California. Before he
                        had the number, he could work only for cash.
                             Carolyn Benitez, executive director of La Familia senior
                        center in Wichita, Kan., said some immigrants who had been
                        hoping for amnesty have already returned to Mexico.
                             "Bush has been saying to us we need to get on with our
                        everyday lives," she said, "yet he is postponing this."