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Home  News Immigration Reform Bush backs 'controlled' migration
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Bush backs 'controlled' migration |
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US President George W Bush has insisted he wants to make it legal for more immigrants to work in his country.
On Friday, he was holding a second day of talks in Cancun with his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox, and Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.
However, Mr Bush earlier made clear that he was not in favour of allowing undocumented migrants to be put on a fast track to US citizenship.
The US Congress is currently debating an immigration bill.
Hardline conservatives are strongly opposed to legalising undocumented immigrants and want to criminalise them.
Mr Bush also made clear that any legalisation had to be matched by tighter security on the border with Mexico.
"I told the president that I am committed to having a comprehensive immigration bill on my desk," he said referring to Mr Fox.
"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."
President Bush insisted he supported immigration to the US from Mexico and Central America, so long as it was orderly.
'Moving freely'
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.
However, he ruled out any possibility that Mexico would try to prevent migrants from crossing the border.
"We can't infringe upon the right of people to move freely within our territory," Mr Fox said.
Mr Bush's proposed reforms would allow illegal immigrants to register for legal status and eventually for US citizenship.
But the House of Representatives has approved a bill making it a crime to remain in the US a criminal offence, and build a fence along parts of the Mexican border to keep immigrants out.
The bill touched off mass protests in US cities and now the Senate is working on a possible compromise that would reinforce border security while allowing work visas and eventual residency for some immigrants.
In other developments at the summit:
* Mr Fox said he was preparing to extradite at least 24 drug traffickers to the US
* Mr Bush said he would resume negotiation with Canada on softwood lumber import tariffs
Mr Bush is also expected 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
All three leaders wish to repair relationships strained by the US invasion of Iraq - a decision both Mexico and Canada opposed.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4864770.stm
Published: 2006/03/31 15:32:06 GMT
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