WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said
                 Friday the Bush administration was considering several options to help 3
                 million undocumented Mexicans in the United States legalize their status,
                 but a blanket amnesty was not one of them.

                 "At the moment we are coming up with a series of recommendations that will
                 be presented to the president in due course, and I will be discussing these
                 possible recommendations with Foreign Minister (Jorge) Castaneda on August
                 9," he said, without specifying where the meeting would take place.

                 "They do not, at the moment, include just simply a blanket amnesty for
                 everybody," he told a news conference.

                 "But I'm sure the recommendations will include ways for some of those who
                 are in the country to remain in the country and try to regularize the flow of
                 people back and forth."

                 Mexican President Vicente Fox concluded a tour of the U.S. Midwest on
                 Tuesday with a call for reforms in immigration policies, urging expanded
                 "documentation and legalization" for Mexicans living and working illegally in the
                 United States.

                 Without mentioning an amnesty, he said both countries should crack down on
                 the smuggling of immigrants across the 2,000-mile border, a practice that killed
                 300 people last year, many by dehydration or exposure in the desert.

                 White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said this week that the main focus of a
                 State and Justice Department working group considering the issue was a guest
                 worker program.

                 His comments contrasted with published reports that the administration was
                 ready to back a full amnesty for the undocumented workers, a controversial
                 plan that is opposed by some in Congress and some U.S. labor unions fearing
                 jobs will be taken by immigrants willing to work for low wages.

                 Separately, a U.S. official said the working group had looked into the idea of
                 giving permanent residence to the Mexicans, and over time, U.S. citizenship.

                 Such a move could enhance the standing of President George W. Bush with
                 Mexican American voters as he seeks to position himself for the 2004
                 presidential election.

                 But Powell's comments also seemed to lean toward a guest worker program
                 rather than a complete amnesty.

                 "We're proud of the fact that we offer opportunities for people to come to this
                 country and to make a living, some to go back, some to ultimately become
                 American citizens," he said.

                 But he added: "We want to regularize this. We want to make it less dangerous,
                 less threatening to become a citizen if that is where your destiny takes you."

                   Copyright 2001 Reuters.