By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday; Page A16

Mexican President Vicente Fox appealed to a joint session of the U.S. Congress yesterday to support President Bush's call for broad changes in immigration law,
although Fox acknowledged the idea might seem "risky and perhaps even unwise" to some lawmakers.

Bush, speaking later, did not commit to meeting Fox's demand for action by year's end, a deadline Fox sprang as an unwelcome surprise as he began his three-day
state visit Wednesday.

Bush said they had made great progress during their "ojo a ojo" -- eye to eye -- meetings, which culminated Wednesday night with the administration's first state
dinner.

"I hope we can come up with a solution; I want to accommodate my friend," Bush said, appearing with Fox on the South Lawn of the White House before they flew
together to Ohio.

Bush, calling for "a direct and honest assessment of reality," made it clear for the first time that he hopes to create a route to legalization for some of the more than 3
million undocumented Mexicans living in the United States. The idea is vigorously opposed by some Republicans.

"There are many in our country who are undocumented and we want to make sure that their labor is legal," Bush said. "The truth of the matter is that if somebody is
willing to do jobs others in America aren't willing to do, we ought to welcome that person to the country and we ought to make that a legal part of our economy."

Administration officials said the treatment of undocumented migrants poses the biggest obstacle to a politically viable immigration policy. The officials said they will
try to make an amnesty provision more palatable to opponents in Congress by adding requirements that might include English proficiency or the payment of a certain
amount of taxes or employment for a specified length of time.

A senior administration official said the type of legal status Bush is considering would be likely to allow now-undocumented workers to travel back and forth to
Mexico.

"Some folks in this pool will become green-card eligible," the official said. "Where the line will be, we haven't decided."

A green card confers legal, permanent residency and puts an immigrant on track for citizenship.

Both sides had hoped they would be able to use the state visit to announce their plans for immigration changes, but they released only a joint statement that included
general principles for new law, including the goal of "forging new and realistic approaches to migration to ensure it is safe, orderly, legal and dignified."

Late yesterday, the Senate passed a bill -- which had been delayed by Republican action -- to extend by a year the deadline for illegal immigrants to apply for visas.
The House has passed a bill that would extend the deadline for four months.

Democratic officials said Bush's delay in submitting a proposal to Capitol Hill makes him politically vulnerable, especially since his administration is making a
concerted effort to attract Hispanic voters in the 2002 and 2004 elections.

"He has clearly not convinced members of his own party that this is good politics and good policy," a Democratic Senate leadership aide said.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) told reporters there "appears to have been some backtracking" by Bush on immigration. "I'm disappointed in
the lack of progress we've been able to make so far," he said.

Daschle said he wants new policy to apply beyond Mexicans and include such workers as Nicaraguans, Hondurans and Asians. "We think it ought to be universally
applied, not country-specific," he said.

Bush has said he wants to consider that, and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that the scope of the new policy will be worked through.

"I think that it is obvious that, with a border, the issues are sometimes more intense and more immediate than with countries with which we do not share a border,"
she said.

Bush, indicating the frustration he and his advisers feel in finding a plan that Congress will accept, referred several times to the complexity of the issue.

"To make matters even more complicated, we've got to work with the Congress, and we've got to come up with a solution that Congress can accept," he said.

The president acknowledged the complaint of some lawmakers that new amnesty rules for undocumented immigrants would be unfair to people who have applied
for green cards.

"There are a lot of people who have stood in line, who have said, 'I'll abide by the laws of the United States,' " Bush said. "We're trying to work through a formula
that will not penalize the person who's chosen the legal route and at the same time recognizes the contribution that the undocumented has made."

Turning to another sensitive border issue, Bush repeated his pledge to veto a transportation appropriations bill that includes tough safety requirement for incoming
trucks from Mexico.

Bush also urged Congress to change the annual evaluation of Mexico's anti-narcotics efforts, a law dating to 1961 that applies to drug-producing nations and
includes the provision of sanctions against those that fail the process.

Mexican officials chafe at the requirement. Bush said it "sends the wrong signal to our friends to the south."

Fox, speaking a few hours earlier at the rostrum of the House, won applause as he spoke directly to lawmakers' reservations about "regularization," or temporary
legal status for undocumented immigrants.

"Let me be clear about this: Regularization does not mean rewarding those who break the law," Fox said. "Regularization means that we will provide them with the
legal means to allows them to continue contributing to this great nation."

Fox, speaking alternately in Spanish and English, told Congress he realizes "many on both sides of the border would rather stick to the old saying that 'good fences
make good neighbors.' "

Fox called for cooperation between the nations issues besides migration, including the enforcement of drug laws.

"Members of this honorable Congress, give trust a chance," He said. "Many among you have a parent or a grandparent who came into this country as an immigrant
from another land."

Fox drew an enthusiastic response, although some conservative Republicans had reservations, especially about legalization of undocumented immigrants.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said attendance by lawmakers -- often sparse during speeches by foreign
dignitaries -- was unusually high, reflecting what Lugar called a "quantum leap" in relations between the United States and Mexico.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a conservative, praised Fox's speech but disagreed with Fox's proposal for a quick agreement on immigration, saying he thought it was "in
error."

The joint statement from the presidents said U.S.-Mexican relations "have entered their most promising moment in history." The two formed a public-private group
called Partnership for Prosperity, the slogan from Bush's visit to Mexico in February, to spur economic growth throughout Mexico. The group is supposed to report
recommendations next March.

Staff writers Helen Dewar and Mary Beth Sheridan contributed to this report.

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