‘Fair’ Immigration Policy Promised

The White House promised Friday that any immigration agreements it makes with Mexico will not come at the expense of American workers or their interests.

In a statement of principles, the White House also said it will make sure that any undocumented workers who gain the opportunity to acquire legal status in the United States “do not gain advantage over those who play by the rules,” meaning legal immigrants awaiting citizenship.

“The immigration system must be fair. Our most important obligation is to those who follow the rules and abide by the law,” said the principles, released Friday evening without fanfare.

The document largely restates positions articulated for some time now by President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox, most recently during their two-day summit here this week.

But the reassurances seem designed to alleviate concerns among American workers and legal immigrants--while laying out the full rationale for allowing 3 million or more Mexican workers to obtain a green card, a goal Bush stated on Thursday. Such a card denotes legal permanent residency and is a step toward full U.S. citizenship.

It is far from certain, though, that such a proposal can win majority support in Congress. Opposition to it, and the complexities of immigration reform, already have slowed the negotiations between Washington and Mexico on how to “regularize” illegal workers.

Despite the delays and potential obstacles, Fox publicly declared Wednesday that a bilateral agreement on immigration reform “must and can” be reached by the end of this year. Bush and other top White House aides, surprised by Fox’s statement, responded by saying that they would do all they can to meet that deadline, but they offered no promises or even assurances.

But on a flight Friday to Florida, Fox told Mexican media he was pleased that Bush had expressed willingness to at least work toward “a first formal agreement” on immigration by the end of the year.

“The first accord doesn’t mean that we have resolved all the problems but that we have taken a step forward, ratified by an agreement, and that this will keep the process moving forward from there,” Fox said.

The remark appeared designed to give Bush more political maneuvering room than what had seemed an unequivocal deadline for agreement in Fox’s statement on the White House lawn Wednesday.

High-level talks on immigration reform have been going on between the two countries since February, when Fox and Bush met at the Mexican president’s ranch in San Cristobal. The working group is being led by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, and their Mexican counterparts.

Initially, both sides had hoped to reach an agreement that the presidents could unveil during this week’s summit. Now it is anyone’s guess when such a deal can be reached.

In lieu of an agreement, both sides told reporters in the days leading to the two-day summit, which ended Thursday night, that a set of principles would be issued.

“The working group has covered a lot of ground and will continue to examine these issues in the months ahead,” said the White House statement released late Friday.

As for the creation of a new guest-worker program, another goal of the negotiations, the White House said that it will focus on Fox’s concept of “circularity,” meaning the process by which Mexicans work in the U.S. for a specified time, develop certain skills and then return home to contribute to their motherland.

The principles also reiterated two key points that Fox and Bush have emphasized: that the reforms must not only address the economic woes that drive Mexicans across the border, often at the risk of their lives, but also recognize their contributions to the U.S. economy and American culture.

“And we must not forget that the huge majority of Mexicans among us are hard-working people who contribute to our communities and economy, and simply want the best for their families,” the statement said.

It added:

“As a nation that wants its neighbors to be prosperous as well as democratic, we understand Mexico’s needs. Mexico wants to make migration a positive contributor to its development, a source of prosperity for Mexican families, new skills and fresh entrepreneurial spirit. We want Mexico to succeed. It is in our national interest for Mexico to succeed.”

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Times staff writer James F. Smith contributed to this story.