Mexican government favors U.S. immigration proposal from Kennedy, McCain

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government favors immigration legislation proposed by U.S. senators Edward Kennedy and John McCain that would allow currently illegal aliens to work in the U.S. for up to six years, a spokesman for President Vicente Fox said Thursday.

Presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said the bipartisan proposal “is the one that comes closest to what Mexico wants.”

Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez discussed migration issues on Wednesday during meetings in Washington with Sen. Kennedy and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The U.S. Senate plans to take up immigration legislation early next year, including the contentious issue of including illegal immigrants in a guest worker program.

“From Mexico’s perspective — with absolute respect for the sovereignty of the other country — you only can resolve the migration problem with a migration that is legal, orderly, secure and respectful of human rights,” Aguilar said.

U.S. President George W. Bush has urged Congress to act on a guest worker program and has proposed a plan that would allow undocumented workers to get three-year work visas.

Those visas could then be extended for an additional three years, but migrants would then have to return to their home countries for a year to apply for a new work permit.