A key senator presented a bill to tighten border security, seeking better cooperation among the militaries of the U.S., Mexico and Central America.

BY PABLO BACHELET

WASHINGTON - Sen. Richard Lugar, the influential Indiana Republican who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has introduced a bill that seeks to change the way the United States, Mexico and Central America cooperate to stem the flow of illegal immigration on the southern border.

The bill, which was quietly presented this week, aims to improve procedures to exchange security information, get the militaries from Mexico and the United States to talk more and sets up a database to track the movement of members of Central American gangs.

It also would require U.S. government agencies to ''develop a strategy'' to stop foreigners from using Mexico as a transit corridor to enter the United States.

Rep. Katherine Harris, a Florida Republican with close contacts with the White House, has agreed to sponsor companion legislation on the House side, according to her office.

The bill takes into account the views of Canadian, Mexican and Central American authorities, as well as the Department of State, although the White House has not specifically endorsed the proposal, said a staffer with Lugar's office who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Lugar's proposal is broader than President Bush's own proposal to bolster security on the Mexican-U.S. border because it incorporates the Central Americans and tackles the touchy subject of relations between the military forces of Mexico and the United States, the staffer said.

The Mexicans have been reluctant to get their security forces more involved in immigration issues, although under President Vicente Fox the Mexican military has tried to crack down on drug trafficking along the border.

Lugar said in an accompanying statement that Canada, the United States and Mexico were ``inextricably intertwined.''

More than 1.1 million persons were apprehended last year trying to cross into the United States. Lugar said that 100,000 of those arrests involved non-Mexicans, including 3,000 to 4,000 from countries like Somalia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, areas that are of concern because terrorist cells have originated there.

Lugar said ''our land borders also serve as a conduit for illegal immigration, drugs and other illicit items'' and ``could also serve as a channel for international terrorists and weapons of mass destruction.''

Lugar is no immigration hawk. He supports the Bush proposal to grant temporary work visas to illegal immigrants and backs the use of the matricula consular as a form of identification for immigrants. The matricula is issued by Mexican consulates and its growing use has sparked some criticism that it encourages illegal immigration. The Senate is debating a proposal that would restrict use of the matricula.