- CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters)
- 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.
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- Bush told Fox during visit at his Texas ranch that he
will allow some Mexicans who travel often to the United States to bypass
requirements that they be photographed and fingerprinted each time.
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- "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 after a two-day meeting 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.
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- 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."
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- 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.
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- 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 following the 2001 attacks when a
crackdown on border security dealt a blow to Fox's hopes for much freer
movement between the two countries. The rift widened when Mexico refused
to back the Iraq war. But recently, the two leaders have tried to mend
fences.
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- 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. Those outside the country would also get 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.
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- "There's no telling what's going to happen in an
election year, so it's very difficult to give a date." Massachusetts
Sen. John Kerry , Bush's Democratic rival in the presidential race, derided
the president's efforts to reach out to Fox and his pursuit of immigration
reform as blatantly political. "Latinos can tell it's an election
year because George W. Bush is finally paying attention to them,"
Kerry said in a statement.
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