Mexico urges Bush to veto US border fence bill

MEXICO CITY - Mexico pleaded with US President George W. Bush today to veto a Senate proposal to build a fence to keep illegal immigrants out, saying it could backfire by making the border less secure.

The US Senate overwhelmingly backed a bill last week to put up about 1125km of fence, a project Republicans hope will impress voters calling for tougher immigration control ahead of Nov. 7 congressional elections.

"The Mexican government strongly opposes the building of walls in the border area between Mexico and the United States," President Vicente Fox's spokesman Ruben Aguilar told reporters.

"This decision hurts bilateral relations, goes against the spirit of cooperation needed to guarantee security on the common border, creates a climate of tension in border communities," he said.

Aguilar said Mexico would send a diplomatic note to Washington today urging Bush to veto the bill, which requires the president's signature to become law.

Bush had hoped for broad immigration legislation that would create a guest-worker programme, which would match workers with jobs Americans are unwilling to do. But House Republicans had pushed for greater emphasis on sealing the porous frontier.

Mexicans are livid about the fence plan, which is seen as a slap in the face to efforts during Fox's near-completed six-year term to come to an agreement with Washington on immigration.

President-elect Felipe Calderon, who takes office December 1, also has lambasted the fence plan and the issue promises to prickle his relationship with Washington from the outset.

Hundreds of Latin Americans, mostly Mexicans, die each year crossing perilous rivers and deserts separating the two countries, and tougher control has increased fatalities.

"Partial measures focused exclusively on security ignore reality and represent ... a political answer rather than a viable solution to this problem," Aguilar said.

Asked about the fence at an international media forum in Mexico City, US Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon said: "We need to know who's coming across our borders and after years of not paying that much attention to the frontier ... we are now attempting to come to terms with it."

"We recognise that how this is perceived outside the United States is not positive but we would ask for patience."

- REUTERS