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Articles: Bush reassures Mexico on migrants

Posted by admin on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 08:04 AM

US President George W Bush has said he supports immigration to the United States from Mexico and Central America so long as it is orderly.

The three leaders visited the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza

Mr Bush was speaking during talks with his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox, on the first of a two-day summit in Cancun also involving Canada. He said he was not in favour of allowing illegal immigrants to be put on a fast-track to US citizenship. But he promised to try to push through legislation on a work permit system. "I told the President that I am committed to having a comprehensive immigration bill on my desk," he said. "And by comprehensive, I mean not only border security - a bill that has border security in it, a bill that has interior enforcement in it, but a bill that has a worker permit programme in it. "And that's an important part of having a border that works." 'Safe border needed' Mr Bush did not give a timetable for reform. Mr Fox, meanwhile, said Mexico and Central America had a role to play in tackling illegal immigration. "We want a safe border. We want it for the good of our people and also for our relationship with the United States," he said. The BBC's James Westhead in Cancun says Mr Fox has long pushed for Washington to legalise the estimated six million undocumented Mexicans living in the US. Mr Bush has proposed reforms that would allow them to register for legal status and eventually for US citizenship. However, hardline conservatives in the House of Representatives are fighting the proposal and have approved a bill making unapproved US entry a crime along with plans to build a fence along the Mexican border to keep immigrants out. The measure touched off mass protests in US cities and now the Senate is working on a possible compromise that would reinforce border security but also allow work visas and eventual residency for some immigrants. Naval blockade Security is tight for the summit in the beach resort whose Mayan name means "nest of serpents". Mexico has sealed off much of the island, even imposing a naval blockade. Before getting down to business, Mr Bush, Mr Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the nearby ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza on Thursday morning. There are other controversial issues being discussed at the summit:
Mr Bush, meeting Mr Harper for the first time since he took office in February, will try to address Canada's concerns over an American plan to require Canadians to show passports and not merely driver's licences when they cross the border
The two northern leaders will also try and resolve a long-simmering row over American tariffs on the import of Canadian lumber
All three leaders wish to repair relationships strained by the US invasion of Iraq - a decision both Mexico and Canada opposed.
Iraq will not be mentioned in Cancun, though, where all sides will focus on the flow of both goods and people across their borders.

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