Mexican official reiterates temp worker-pact desire
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 Jan. 18, 2005

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/57364.php

CALEXICO, Calif. - Mexico will continue to press for an immigration agreement establishing a right for Mexicans to work temporarily in the United States, the country's interior secretary, Santiago Creel, said Monday after meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
 
Creel also denounced an Arizona ballot measure - approved by voters in November - that limits government services for illegal immigrants.
 
"It's incompatible with human rights and does a disservice to both countries, the United States as much as Mexico," he told reporters at a news conference after the meeting in Calexico, a border city about 100 miles east of San Diego.
 
Ridge said an immigration agreement was a "high priority" for President Bush in his second term, but he added that a temporary-worker program would be an uphill battle in Congress without provisions for stricter enforcement of immigration laws.
 
He emphasized that the United States would reject any amnesty proposal for Mexicans who are living in the United States illegally or any plan that gives priority to temporary workers when they apply for permanent residency.
 
Ridge is leaving his job as Homeland Security secretary on Feb. 1.