By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
 
MEXICO CITY, Jan. 5 - The Mexican government drew fire from American advocates of tighter borders on Wednesday for publishing a pamphlet that instructs migrants how to safely enter the United States illegally and live there without being detected.

Officials here say the small booklet, illustrated in comic-book style, is not intended to encourage illegal immigration, but to reduce the loss of life. Last year, more than 300 migrants died while crossing rivers and deserts to reach the United States.

The guidebook also advises would-be migrants to avoid hiring professional immigrant-smugglers and to refuse to carry packages for others. It also instructs people never to lie to border officials, carry false documents or resist arrest.

But groups favoring stricter immigration controls said the pamphlet amounted to a how-to manual for illegal immigrants. The booklet gives advice on what clothes to wear when fording a river and how to cross a desert without getting dehydrated.

It also counsels migrants to keep a low profile once in the United States, telling them, for instance, to stay away from loud parties or discos that might be raided by the police and to stay out of domestic disputes, which might lead to an arrest. Finally, it lists what rights migrants have if caught, among them safe transport home, medical care, food and water.

"This is not the action of a friendly neighbor," said Representative Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican who chairs the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. "What would the Mexican government say if we encouraged our citizens to violate Mexican law?"

Mexico's Foreign Ministry, however, said its intent in publishing the "Guide for the Mexican Migrant" was to warn migrants of the dangers they might face if they choose to slip illegally into the United States.

Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Mexico's under secretary for North American affairs, said the guide was written to dissuade people from making a clandestine journey or at least to warn them of the perils and legal risks should they decide to go. About 1.5 million copies of the guide were printed and distributed throughout the country in December.

"Just last year over 300 Mexicans died in their attempt to enter the United States, the vast majority if not all of them in search of a job," Mr. Gutiérrez said. "The Mexican government obviously has an obligation to take all actions possible in order to avoid the loss of life."

He added, "It is a natural and fair response to consider this as an attempt to promote undocumented immigration, but that is absolutely not the intent of the Mexican government."

But groups seeking stricter immigration laws argued that Mexican officials were being disingenuous in asserting that the pamphlet does not encourage illegal migration. They say that Mexico wants to continue exporting unemployed people and reaping the benefits of money sent home to their families.

"If the Mexican government were really very concerned about their citizens dying in the desert, why doesn't it use its army and police to prevent people from crossing in those areas?" said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tighter borders.

Others said the pamphlet only highlighted the need to revamp the American immigration system, which seems to have no effective response to the yearly flood of Mexican migrants seeking jobs. "The publication is nothing more than another symptom of a broken immigration system," said Paul L. Zulkie, president of American Immigration Lawyers Association.