Fox Backs Bush's Immigration Plan

U.S. President George W. Bush won strong support from Mexican President Vicente Fox on Monday for his new immigration proposal as the two leaders worked to smooth strained relations.

"In Mexico this is a very important step forward," the Mexican president said of Bush's proposal, which is designed to provide legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants working in the United States.

Fox on Monday also accepted an invitation to visit Bush's Texas ranch in March, another sign that the two leaders' sometimes rocky relationship is on the mend.

Bush is expected to unveil details of his plan in his State of the Union address on Jan. 20, and it is unclear how they will be received by lawmakers.

"This plan is not amnesty," the president said of his plan to match workers with jobs. "I oppose amnesty because it encourages violation of our laws."

Speaking of Mexico and other countries, he said, "Our neighbors will benefit as productive citizens return home with money to invest" and help the economies in their own nations.

The trip was Bush's fourth to Mexico since he took office nearly three years ago, more than to any other country. After Fox took office in 2001, Bush made Fox's ranch his first international trip.

The Bush White House saw the face-to-face meeting not only as a chance to mend ties between the two countries, but also to earn some political capital for a president who wants a second term.

Both leaders, who share a love of cowboy boots and rural life, said they wanted to focus on strengthening relations.

Bush arrived in this industrial city at an airport where gun-carrying troops and security officers roamed the grounds. He and his wife, Laura walked through a phalanx of Mexican officials — all men wearing dark suits.

The couple was followed in the procession of greeting by Secretary of State Colin Powell, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and White House chief of staff Andy Card.

On a 90-minute flight here from Texas, Bush got a briefing from Rice and Powell on the Summit of the Americas that Bush and Fox were attending, said press secretary Scott McClellan.

In his meeting with Fox, the spokesman said, the president was to discuss the new immigration policy, strengthened border security and free trade. McClellan dismissed talk of the meeting as an opportunity to air grievances.

"We have a good relationship with Mexico and President Fox is a good friend of the president's," McClellan said. "Whatever differences we had in the past, we have a lot of common challenges that we are working closely together on."

Bush dismayed Fox when he put immigration reform on the back burner after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Their relationship further soured when Mexico failed to back the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Assessing the speech, CBS foreign affairs analyst Pam Falk said Bush was likely spinning his remarks with an eye to Hispanics in the U.S.

"Bush is clearly speaking directly to the Hispanic community in the U.S. in his comments at the Mexico Summit, speaking about the 'right thing to do' and about poverty and trade in the neighborhood," said Falk.

"Although he is taking risks going to Mexico right now amidst rising criticism, President Bush is more comfortable with the subject of Mexico than he is with any other foreign policy area and it comes across."