Immigration, politics in spotlight as leaders work to mend ties

By G. ROBERT HILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News

CRAWFORD, Texas – President Bush welcomed Mexican President Vicente Fox to his ranch Friday for two days of fence mending.

"El Presidente," Mr. Bush said, greeting his guest.

Their once very-public camaraderie still strained by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the war against Iraq, the two leaders faced a long agenda of border concerns – from immigration to security to water and trade.

For Mr. Fox, the overnight stay was a chance to press Mr. Bush for more details on his new proposal for a temporary guest worker program to offer legal status to millions of undocumented workers.

For Mr. Bush, the visit was an opportunity to explore the immigration issue that is particularly important to the growing bloc of Hispanic voters in the United States. And analysts suggested the two days of Bush-and-Fox pictures expected out of the summit weren't bad election-year politics, either.

"Both sides need each other, plain and simple," said Mexican historian Enrique Krauze.

The Mexican president and first lady Marta Sahagún de Fox arrived at the ranch by Marine helicopter late Friday afternoon after a short flight from the Waco airport.

They were met by Mr. Bush and first lady Laura Bush and driven to their ranch house in the president's white Ford pickup.

The Bushes entertained their guests later at a small dinner party, serving bass that the president said he caught himself in one of the small lakes on the ranch. There were also crab cakes and one of his favorites, a green chile cheese grits soufflé.

Most of the bilateral discussions will take place on Saturday, when the two leaders will meet with reporters as well.

Border travel

While immigration matters will top the agenda, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said, the two leaders would also be discussing ways to ease travel across the border, particularly by Mexicans who enter the United States regularly for short visits.

One possibility under active consideration by U.S. officials would waive new requirements to photograph and fingerprint those visa-carrying Mexicans under the new US-VISIT border security program.

"We are looking very closely at it," Mr. McClellan said.

Mr. Fox is the ninth world leader to visit the president's Prairie Chapel Ranch. He had been invited in the summer of 2002 but canceled to protest the Texas execution of a Mexican citizen convicted of killing a Dallas police officer.

When the two leaders last met in Monterrey, Mexico, last month at the Summit of the Americas, Mr. Fox embraced Mr. Bush's immigration proposal as "a very important step forward." But analysts on all sides of the issue say the chances of such a proposal passing Congress this election year are slim to none.

Many conservative Republicans complain that the president's plan would unduly reward illegal immigrants for breaking the law, while many Democrats and immigrant advocates say it does not go far enough.

"Immigrant communities need real solutions. They don't need rhetoric anymore. They really need real solutions," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

Other immigrant advocates also wonder just how serious the president is with his immigration plan, noting that he has yet to offer Congress any legislation or embrace similar measures that are already pending.

Still, Margie McHugh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, suggests the growing clout of the nation's Hispanic electorate will keep the issue center stage.

Mr. Bush "cannot walk away from the legalization issue and get the sort of lift that they want within the Latino vote," she said.

'Strongly committed'

Briefing reporters in Crawford before Mr. Fox's arrival, Mr. McClellan said Mr. Bush is "strongly committed to moving forward" with his immigration proposal, despite the congressional reluctance.

"He's going to continue to talk about the importance of acting on it," Mr. McClellan said. "We are continuing to work with Congress to work on legislation that meets the principles that the president outlined."

Under Mr. Bush's plan, as many as 12 million illegal immigrants, including as many as 6 million Mexicans, and others who want to emigrate could apply for three-year work permits.

The permits could be renewed, but Mr. Bush has offered few details about how, or for how long.

The concept, as Mr. Bush envisions, is to match what he calls willing workers with willing employers for jobs that U.S. workers will not take.

He opposes any sort of blanket amnesty, he says, because illegal immigrants should not be rewarded and because it would encourage more illegal immigration.

Mr. Fox, who envisions an open border between the United States and Mexico, has made migration a cornerstone of his foreign policy and is determined to move on with Mr. Bush's plan.

"We have to keep the debate going," he told reporters before he left for Texas. "The initiatives are there, and we have to keep on working."

It's tough sledding, though.

"It may actually be easier to get a man to Mars than to lobby for immigration reform," said a Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The timing just isn't right."

High on agendas

At the start of their administrations three years ago, both leaders put U.S.-Mexican relations high on their agendas.

"Some people look south and see problems. Not me," Mr. Bush said, outlining his Latin American policy at the start of his term. "I look south and see opportunities and potential."

But the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington later in 2001 soured U.S.-Mexico relations, as the Bush administration and Congress sought to tighten the nation's borders, not open them more. And Mr. Fox's opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq further strained the bilateral relationship.

Now, the political turmoil in Haiti and Venezuela poses new problems, particularly for Mr. Bush.

When he visited Mr. Fox's ranch in central Mexico three years ago, their talks were described as upbeat and promising.

"There were expectations in capital letters," said political analyst Rafael Fernández de Castro, a columnist at the Mexico City Reforma newspaper. "Now, neither side wants to make any noise."

Staff writer Alfredo Corchado in Washington contributed to this report.