U.S. Works on Mexico Immigration Deal

WASHINGTON May 29, 2004 (AP) -- The United States still wants an immigration agreement with Mexico "but it's going to take us a lot more time and a lot more effort'' to achieve success, Secretary of State Colin Powell says.

Powell made the comment in an interview with reporters May 27, a text of which was made available Friday by the State Department.

He expressed doubt that President Bush will be able to spend much time with President Vicente Fox when the two are in France in the coming days for the Group of Eight summit. But a meeting in France is not really necessary, Powell said, because the leaders are in frequent contact by telephone.

Powell said Bush shares Fox's concern about the recent incident in Texas in which 18 Mexican migrants died after being trapped inside an abandoned truck in an attempted smuggling incident.

"We want people to be safe as they try to find legitimate ways to come into our country,'' Powell said, noting that the Sept. 11 attacks forced the United States to concentrate on border security at the expense of migration reform.

Powell said he understands that Fox wants to move forward on migration "so that this precious population of Mexican citizens'' can be treated properly in the United States.

Mexican workers, he said, are "making a positive contribution to our economy, and doing a lot for themselves and doing a lot for the American people.''

Fox, Powell added, wants Mexicans to be able to "come to our country legally and be received and have an opportunity to earn a living and take money back to Mexico and take skills back to Mexico. They want to go back to their home.''

Powell said he has been working with Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez on some of the easier aspects of migration reform.

Specifically, he mentioned a proposal under which Mexicans with nonimmigrant visas would not have to return to Mexico to have their U.S. visas renewed. Powell noted that Congress rejected the proposal last year.

"It's, frankly, been unfortunate that we haven't been able to move as quickly as we all would have liked to have moved,'' he said. "And the president has assured President Fox on a number of occasions that we haven't lost sight of what we want to do, but it has proven hard.''