Talks Proceed Cautiously; 'Good Outcome' Seen

By Peter Slevin and Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writers

Four months after the terrorist attacks on the United States and the tightening of U.S. borders interrupted plans to ease migration rules for Mexican workers,
representatives of the two countries are working to restore lost momentum. They are finding, however, that they must move cautiously in a newly security-conscious
world.

Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, in Washington to meet with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other leaders, told reporters yesterday that
immigration talks are "advancing little by little." He acknowledged that the new timetable was a disappointment but forecast "a good outcome" later this year.

A reporter noted that just months ago, Castaneda had called on the United States to deliver "the whole enchilada" on a migration agreement. Now, the reporter
joked, "it seems to be just chilaquiles," a Mexican breakfast dish.

"Chilaquiles are very delicious," Castaneda insisted with a smile.

The post-Sept. 11 atmosphere is not conducive to significant changes on behalf of Mexican migrants, U.S. officials said. Public opinion polls indicate support for
stricter controls, not more forgiving ones, after the terrorist hijackings by 19 foreigners, including three who were in the United States illegally.

Yet supporters who believe that more Mexican workers should be able to enter the country legally, or to stay if they are already here, say that limited changes could
become law this year. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said a shift in Mexican migration "remains an important priority for the president. It's something I've
heard him talk about often."

"I do think we will see this issue come back this year in some way or another," a Senate Democratic staffer said. "The question is what way or another."

Castaneda said in an interview that negotiating teams from both countries were hashing out the technical details of immigration reforms and that he hoped for results
soon. "These results will come in stages, not in one package. At the end of the day there will be a package," he said, declining to specify what changes might be
proposed first.

Immigration reform ranked high on the Bush administration's agenda before Sept. 11. The previous week, Mexican President Vicente Fox spoke to a joint session of
Congress and an unlikely clutch of figures gathered at a Senate hearing to voice support for reforms. Among them were U.S. Chamber of Commerce President
Thomas J. Donohue and AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney.

At the time, U.S. and Mexican officials had been negotiating a major increase in the number of Mexican "guest workers" who could temporarily enter the United
States and an amnesty for some of the millions of Mexicans already here illegally. Fox pressed Bush and Congress to develop a policy by the end of 2001, a deadline
the administration politely recognized as unworkable.

The debate shifted dramatically after Sept. 11. Security and the integrity of the border became the first priority of the administration and Congress. The arrival of
2002 -- an election year in which law, order and national security are certain to be central campaign issues -- makes the subject still more ticklish.

Democratic leaders in Congress are likely to lead the reform. Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said in Mexico in November that he hoped
immigration reform this year would grant legal status for longtime, tax-paying U.S. residents who pass an FBI background check.

To make reform more palatable, supporters in Congress likely will speak of immigration legislation as part of a package to tighten the border and visa requirements
while smoothing the flow of authorized, "low-risk" workers.

A congressional staff member said the Senate's first move is likely to be a border security bill already passed by the House that would strengthen immigration laws
and enforcement. A separate administration proposal would make it possible for some illegal immigrants working in the United States to petition for green cards
without leaving the country first. Illegal immigrants fear that, once they have left, they will not be readmitted.

Some opponents in Congress, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), have said there can be no substantial reform
without a restructuring of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Yet Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) said he would support a strict program for guest workers.

James Ziglar, the commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, told a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce meeting that the problem of millions of
illegal immigrants can be resolved only through a deal with Mexico.

He said that if the illegal workers could be made to magically vanish, "we're going to have a bunch of economies [throughout the United States] that are going to die
on us. Because they provide essential labor to our economy. This is an issue we've got to deal with, primarily with our friends in Mexico."

                                               © 2002