By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT / The Dallas Morning News
 
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government agreed in principle Friday to revive a U.S. program to send Mexicans apprehended at the border back to their hometowns rather than releasing them at the border – where many try to cross again and again until they succeed.

However, U.S. and Mexican policy-makers wrapping up a two-day meeting fell short of resolving major issues on interior repatriation, a program that proved controversial in Mexico when last undertaken by the United States during the mid-1990s.

A memorandum of understanding signed by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Mexican Interior Minister Santiago Creel commits both parties to "explore" ways in which to do interior repatriations.

The two governments will establish a task force to resolve sticky details such as Mexico's insistence that repatriation be limited to migrants who volunteer to return home and whether the returns would occur under the control of the United States aboard chartered planes or Mexican-controlled buses.

Details pending

"Whether it's involuntary or voluntary [repatriation] remains a sensitive issue," Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson told reporters Friday morning.

During a joint news conference at the end of the talks, Mr. Creel made clear that significant differences remain. Repatriation "must be voluntary," he said.

"Our constitution guarantees the free movement of people within our country," he said.

Although Mr. Ridge said he was confident that an interior repatriation program would be undertaken, he said, "We have quite a few of these very important details to work out."

Some U.S. officials in the delegation said privately that they do not interpret the agreement as a definitive commitment that Mexico will permit interior repatriations. Movement on repatriation, which was a top U.S. priority for the bilateral meeting, was the most significant achievement on the agenda, which focused largely on border security issues.

Both governments also are committed to joint steps to crack down on immigrant smuggling rings and reduce the number of migrant deaths in the Arizona desert. Hundreds of migrants die annually as they attempt to cross inhospitable desert regions where border security is less stringent.

The meeting was virtually silent on a top Mexican priority: movement on an accord that would grant legal status to millions of Mexicans living illegally in the United States and permit an orderly, regulated flow of Mexican workers north of the border.

Mr. Creel, at a dinner Thursday in Mr. Ridge's honor, made clear Mexico's desire for a migration agreement, devoting much of his welcome speech to the issue.

While acknowledging that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks forced the United States to adopt a new focus on security, Mr. Creel praised migrants' economic and social contributions. "The majority of migrants do not represent a security threat to the United States," he said at the elegant Palacio de Correos.

Mr. Ridge, who brought nearly the entire top leadership of his department to the meeting, made scant public mention of President Bush's proposal to provide temporary legal status to millions of illegal workers.

In an interview aboard his military jet en route to Mexico City, Mr. Ridge acknowledged that the president's guest worker plan, attacked as inadequate by immigrant advocates and derided by conservatives as an amnesty for lawbreakers, will not be enacted by Congress in an election year.

"This will be a contested and a controversial issue," he said, adding that although Congress may begin debate on an accord this year, "it would be very difficult [to enact] in a calendar year that has a national election and two national conventions and a whole bunch of primaries."

Though the talks were short on major accomplishments, officials from both governments said they further cemented the ties of friendship between the two countries. Relations were strained after the Sept. 11 attacks derailed the White House's earlier push for legalization. And there have been tensions over Mexico's refusal to support the war in Iraq, disputes over water and other issues.

This week's meeting offered a sign of the continuing warming relations, with Mr. Ridge saying he felt it necessary to bring his leadership team in recognition of Mexico's willingness to enact a range of measures, some unpopular, to enhance border security.

Ranch invitation

Another sign is that Mr. Bush has extended a coveted invitation to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, on March 5 to President Vicente Fox.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that it would expand its trusted-shipper and trusted-traveler programs in Texas and other border states, the latest step to use automation to speed movement across the congested border.

New lanes that cut delays for pedestrians and motorists who have undergone background checks and purchased a $129 electronic card will be added in El Paso, Laredo and Brownsville in Texas; San Ysidro and Calexico in California; and Nogales in Arizona.

The government also will add lanes that permit expedited crossings for pre-cleared commercial carriers at Pharr and Brownsville in Texas; Nogales; and Calexico and Otay Mesa in California.

Amid Mexican concerns that the US-VISIT fingerprinting program for foreign travelers will further slow border crossings, Mr. Ridge announced that Mexican holders of "laser" visas, or border crossing cards, will be permitted to use those at all ports of entry.

That will spare them separate US-VISIT inspection.

"We have major economic incentives to build a smart border," Mr. Ridge said.