03-07-2004, 12:56 AM
Bush Gives Mexico's Fox Concession on Borders [url "http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/reuters/brand/SIG=pd7i95/*http://www.reuters.com"][/url]
[size 2]By Caren Bohan[/size]
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - [font "arial"]President Bush on Saturday gave Mexican President Vicente Fox a concession on his push to ease border restrictions as the two leaders sought to rebuild a friendship soured by the Iraq war and shifts in U.S. foreign policy after the Sept. 11 attacks. [/font]
[url "http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040306/ids_photos_wl/r3684847974.jpg"]![[Image: r3684847974.jpg]](http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20040306/t/r3684847974.jpg)
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[#0000ff][size 2]Two Devils & a Hero in the foreground[/size][/#0000ff]
[font "arial"]
Bush told Fox during a two-day meeting at his ranch that the United States will allow some Mexicans who travel frequently to the United States to bypass requirements that they be photographed and fingerprinted each time.
"We welcome the news that was confirmed today with regard to visitors to the U.S. from Mexico," Fox told reporters at a joint news conference with Bush.
"We recognize the value to those who come the United States to work, to study, to contribute. And we appreciate what this will do to the flow of visitors now that they will not have to be photographed or fingerprinted for short visits to the United States," he said.
The fingerprinting of visitors is part of tough new border restrictions Washington has put in place in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The United States is using the program, called US-VISIT, to track people as they enter and leave the country. Fox has objected because the program exempts Canadians but not Mexicans.
But the Bush administration is prepared to exempt holders of special cards called "laser visas" from the process if they plan to stay less than 72 hours and will not venture far from the border.
"We're committed to doing this," said Sean McCormack, spokesman for the White House National Security Council. "We still have to iron out the details."
Despite the victory for Fox on that border issue, he is still a long way from achieving his long-held goal of persuading the United States to overhaul its policies on Mexican immigration.
Bush had pledged to work with Fox on that when he traveled to Fox's ranch in Mexico in early 2001 in his first trip outside the United States after becoming president.
MENDING FENCES
The two leaders struck up a strong rapport but drifted apart in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks when a crackdown on border security dealt a setback to Fox's hopes for much freer movement between the two countries.
The rift widened amid U.S. irritation at Mexico's refusal to support the Iraq war but in recent months Bush and Fox have been trying to mend fences.
Bush in January unveiled a proposal to give undocumented immigrants already living and working in the United States a chance to gain legal status by obtaining three-year work visas. Many of the estimated 8 million to 14 million illegal immigrants in the United States are from Mexico.
The plan would also give those outside the country a chance to seek temporary work here but the whole proposal is languishing in Congress.
Some lawmakers in Bush's own Republican party view it as an amnesty program for illegal immigrants that will create new incentives for unlawful border crossings. Bush rejects that characterization, although he has acknowledged he faces an uphill battle in winning over lawmakers.
"I certainly hope the Congress takes this issue up," Bush said when asked by a reporter when he thought the proposal might be enacted. "There's no telling what's going to happen in an election year, so it's very difficult to give a date."
Some Hispanic-American groups are also critical of Bush's proposal, because they believe election-year politics are one of the driving forces behind it and also because they would like to see the proposal go further to give immigrants already here an advantage in seeking permanent residency.
Bush is eager to court Hispanic voters, who lean heavily Democratic and represent an increasingly influential voting bloc[/font]
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[size 2]By Caren Bohan[/size]
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - [font "arial"]President Bush on Saturday gave Mexican President Vicente Fox a concession on his push to ease border restrictions as the two leaders sought to rebuild a friendship soured by the Iraq war and shifts in U.S. foreign policy after the Sept. 11 attacks. [/font]
[url "http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040306/ids_photos_wl/r3684847974.jpg"]
[/url][#0000ff][size 2]Two Devils & a Hero in the foreground[/size][/#0000ff]
[font "arial"]
Bush told Fox during a two-day meeting at his ranch that the United States will allow some Mexicans who travel frequently to the United States to bypass requirements that they be photographed and fingerprinted each time.
"We welcome the news that was confirmed today with regard to visitors to the U.S. from Mexico," Fox told reporters at a joint news conference with Bush.
"We recognize the value to those who come the United States to work, to study, to contribute. And we appreciate what this will do to the flow of visitors now that they will not have to be photographed or fingerprinted for short visits to the United States," he said.
The fingerprinting of visitors is part of tough new border restrictions Washington has put in place in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The United States is using the program, called US-VISIT, to track people as they enter and leave the country. Fox has objected because the program exempts Canadians but not Mexicans.
But the Bush administration is prepared to exempt holders of special cards called "laser visas" from the process if they plan to stay less than 72 hours and will not venture far from the border.
"We're committed to doing this," said Sean McCormack, spokesman for the White House National Security Council. "We still have to iron out the details."
Despite the victory for Fox on that border issue, he is still a long way from achieving his long-held goal of persuading the United States to overhaul its policies on Mexican immigration.
Bush had pledged to work with Fox on that when he traveled to Fox's ranch in Mexico in early 2001 in his first trip outside the United States after becoming president.
MENDING FENCES
The two leaders struck up a strong rapport but drifted apart in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks when a crackdown on border security dealt a setback to Fox's hopes for much freer movement between the two countries.
The rift widened amid U.S. irritation at Mexico's refusal to support the Iraq war but in recent months Bush and Fox have been trying to mend fences.
Bush in January unveiled a proposal to give undocumented immigrants already living and working in the United States a chance to gain legal status by obtaining three-year work visas. Many of the estimated 8 million to 14 million illegal immigrants in the United States are from Mexico.
The plan would also give those outside the country a chance to seek temporary work here but the whole proposal is languishing in Congress.
Some lawmakers in Bush's own Republican party view it as an amnesty program for illegal immigrants that will create new incentives for unlawful border crossings. Bush rejects that characterization, although he has acknowledged he faces an uphill battle in winning over lawmakers.
"I certainly hope the Congress takes this issue up," Bush said when asked by a reporter when he thought the proposal might be enacted. "There's no telling what's going to happen in an election year, so it's very difficult to give a date."
Some Hispanic-American groups are also critical of Bush's proposal, because they believe election-year politics are one of the driving forces behind it and also because they would like to see the proposal go further to give immigrants already here an advantage in seeking permanent residency.
Bush is eager to court Hispanic voters, who lean heavily Democratic and represent an increasingly influential voting bloc[/font]
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