Mexico's leader to address U.S. Congress

Fox. left, and Bush are to discuss immigration issues during the visit

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Congress will hear directly from Mexican President Vicente Fox on Thursday, a day after the conservative elected to Mexico's highest post last year said he would like to see a wide-ranging agreement with U.S. officials on immigration by the end of the year.

Fox was in Washington on an official state visit with President Bush, in which the U.S. and Mexican leaders are expected to discuss their differences in how to address the immigration of Mexicans to the United States.

The President and first lady Laura Bush hosted Fox and his wife, Martha Sahagun de Fox, at the first state dinner of the Bush presidency Wednesday night. Actor Clint Eastwood, Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green and tenor Placido Domingo were among the other guests to enjoy a meal of bison and potatoes whipped with poblano chilies.

Today, however, Fox is back to business, addressing Congress on some of the most pressing issues between the U.S. and Mexico. Fox wants a blanket amnesty, or pardon, for Mexican immigrants who entered the United States illegally, which Bush opposes.

"We want to continue making progress towards the establishment of an agreement on immigration which will be of mutual benefit to us," Fox said during the ceremony. "And which will recognize above all the value of migrants as human beings and as workers whose hard work is a daily contribution to the prosperity of this great nation."

"We must, and we can, reach an agreement on migration before the end of this very year which will allow us before the end of our respective terms to make sure that there are no Mexicans who have not entered this country legally in the United States and that those Mexicans who have come into the country do so with the proper documents."

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Bush described the United States and Mexico as good neighbors. "The starting point of a sound foreign policy is to build a stable and prosperous neighborhood, with good relations among neighbors," Bush said. "Good neighbors work together and benefit from each other's successes."  

The welcoming ceremony in Washington on Wednesday was followed by a closed-door meeting and a meeting between cabinet members of both nations.

Afterwards, Bush described the dialogue during the meetings as "frank."

"Listen, we've been -- our relationship with Mexico is an incredibly important relationship," Bush said. "It's one where there's a lot of opportunity. And it's a relationship where there's problems. And in order to deal with those problems and take advantage of those opportunities it's important to have discussions at all levels in our government."

Fox reported progress during the talks. "There's clear advances on each of the subjects," he said. "But more so there is a clear advance on this philosophy of trust that we are building in, that we have built in the process."

Although Bush opposes the blanket amnesty, he is considering the expansion of a temporary worker program, which would allow Mexicans living illegally in the U.S. to gain permanent legal residency.

Those efforts face resistance from members of Congress.

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"A guest worker program we can develop -- one that will work, I hope we can develop," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colorado. "But it should not be, and will not be, attached to any sort of amnesty."  

Although a full agreement on immigration is not expected, the two leaders are expected to carve out a framework of principles that would set the stage for further talks.

Bush has cultivated his relationship with Fox and has made new ties with Mexico a key point of his administration's international policy.

Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive, won Mexico's presidency last year as the candidate of the conservative National Action Party. It was the first win by the opposition to Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party in 71 years.

Both leaders face economic woes at home. Fox has so far been unable to deliver on a promise of spurring 1.5 million new jobs. Bush is trying to persuade Congress to grant him broad power to negotiate trade agreements, using the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico as a model.

Analysts credit NAFTA with spurring a 7 percent increase in Mexico's gross domestic product in 2000, but the U.S. economic slowdown has also ground Mexico's economy to a halt and prompted layoffs.

U.S. exports to Mexico are up by nearly 170 percent since NAFTA took effect in 1994. Mexican exports to the United States grew 240 percent during the same period and now account for 25 percent of Mexico's economy.

Organized labor blames NAFTA for lost U.S. manufacturing jobs, however, and other critics note that 1993's $1.7 billion U.S. trade surplus with Mexico is now a $23 billion trade deficit.

Following his address to a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday, Fox is to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney and then travel with Bush to Toledo, Ohio, to tour the Aurora Gonzales Community and Family Resource Center. The Foxes are to host a dinner for the Bushes at Blair House in Washington Thursday evening.