Bush, Fox Meet During Mexican Visit

Feb. 16 -- In his first foreign trip in office, President Bush along with Secretary of State Colin Powell are headed to San Cristobal, Mexico today for a summit meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Bush hopes during his quick visit will be a good first step in his effort to build a "hemisphere of freedom" throughout the Americas.

"The doors are open to a closer partnership with the United States. … President Fox and I will get started at his ranch tomorrow," Bush said in remarks on Thursday at the State Department.

The leaders are to meet at Fox's ranch in the village of San Cristobal, where Fox has a ranch. Among some of the hot topics that Bush and Fox are tentatively going to discuss include expanding trade throughout the Americas, immigration issues, oil and electricity issues, education, and how to fight drug trafficking and other types of organized crime on both sides of the boarder.

"Some look south and see problems," Bush said. "Not me, I look south and see opportunities and potential." Migration a Hot-Button Issue

On the eve of his trip, President Bush spoke of the need to discuss orderly migration of workers to the U.S. But he did not volunteer the fact he disagrees with the Mexican president's suggestion for amnesty for illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

One area of contention is the U.S. border patrol's "Operation Gatekeeper." The six-year-old program has dramatically cut down on illegal immigration south of San Diego. But the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups claim that 500 immigrants were killed along the U.S./Mexico border last year alone.

"[Operation Gatekeeper] is not addressing the issues and it's not controlling illegal immigration," said Roberto Martinez, director of the U.S./Mexico Border Project in San Diego. "In fact, it's created one of te worst human rights violations ever in the United States."Analysts: Mexico a Solid Move

Analysts believe that the president's whirlwind tour to Mexico has the potential to be a good first step. They believe that the two new presidents have a lot of similarities that will make each other very compatible. Presidents Bush and Fox both own sprawling ranches where they feel most at home. Both have Ivy League educations and fluency in the other's native language. Both are newly elected, relatively young, they're fresh faces on the national scene.