Bush, Fox Meet During Mexican Visit

Feb. 16, 2001 -- 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.

"This is the one country that the president of the United States knows very well," said Ray Sadler, a professor at New Mexico State University, and a specialist on U.S./Mexican Relations. "If I had to bet any money on this, I would bet that both men are going to get on horses, and ride off into the sunset together."

Others hope that the two presidents won't get to chummy before the U.S. puts teeth into its anti-drug effort because Washington isn't enforcing its policy of certifying countries that cooperate with the program— and imposing sanctions on those who don't.

"There is nothing that they're saying today about their willingness to help us that they weren't saying thirty years ago. Nothing," said Congressman Charles Rangel, D-NY.

Bush and Fox are also scheduled to hold a joint news conference before the U.S. president leaves Mexico to spend the weekend at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, near Waco. No major announcements were expected to emerge from the meeting, aides said.

ABCNEWS Radio and The Associated Press contributed to this report.