Bush pushes immigration plan

YUMA, Arizona (Reuters) - President George W. Bush took his immigration case to the Mexican border on Thursday, where he pressed for tougher security and a guest worker program as Mexico made clear it opposed his plan.

"Instead of people trying to sneak across this border here, doesn't it make sense to have them come and do jobs Americans aren't doing on a legal basis so that the pressure is off our border?" Bush told Fox News in the Arizona desert.

Many Mexicans risked their lives crossing the border near Yuma, the Arizona city where Bush spoke, to seek work in the United States, until new fences were set up to stop them. Arizona remains a favorite crossing point from Mexico.

Bush requested congressional approval for $1.9 billion in emergency funding for his border security initiative.

In the Senate, lawmakers debated their version of a sweeping immigration overhaul, which would give millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship as long as they pay a fine and back taxes and learn English.

The Senate measure cleared several hurdles to move closer to passage, but faces tough negotiations with the House of Representatives, where a significant number of Republicans oppose it as an amnesty for people who broke U.S. law.

One hurdle came in the form of two amendments on the use of English. In an unusual move, the Senate voted 63-34 to make English the national language, but moments later by a vote of 58-39 also adopted a milder alternative calling English the "unifying language."

The United States currently has no official language, but in the face of a flood of new immigrants, lawmakers strongly supported both measures. Which one ends up in the final version of the immigration reform will depend on talks with the House. Neither would bar the use of Spanish or other languages in government services.

"Although the intent may not be there, I really believe this amendment is racist, I believe it is directed at people who speak Spanish," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

'EVERY DAY IN ANGUISH'

Mexico said it would complain to Washington about plans to build fences and deploy thousands of National Guard troops to curb illegal immigration. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans sneak into the United States every year in search of jobs.

"There are 12 million Mexicans on the other side, 12 million people who live every day in anguish about the need for a reform to let them live peacefully," said Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez.

Mexico wants the United States to make it easier for immigrants to become legal and approve a guest worker program, instead of concentrating on tightening the border.

Bush backs an approach close to what the Senate is considering. He said he had explained to Mexican President Vicente Fox that he has a duty to ensure the U.S. border is secure and Mexico must do the same.

"They have a duty to enforce their side of the border," Bush said, responding to Mexico's complaint in an interview with Fox News Channel.

The welfare of illegal immigrants in the United States is a major political issue in Mexico and the opposition has criticized Fox for not protesting enough against U.S. actions on the porous frontier.

The Senate is considering several amendments to its immigration bill, but the bipartisan coalition pushing the measure has beaten back efforts to weaken it. They hope to complete it by the end of next week.

For example, the Senate killed an amendment offered by Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, that would have prevented immigrants who legalize their status from getting Social Security credit for work while they were illegal.

(Additional reporting by Donna Smith in Washington, Tabassum Zakaria in Yuma and Alistair Bell and Noel Randewich in Mexico City)