BORDERING ON AMAZING CRITICS, SUPPORTERS SURPRISED BY BUSH'S MEXICO PROPOSALS.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush has embraced a reformer from south of the border, set a Jan. 1 deadline for free truck trade, made his weekly radio addresses in Spanish and presided over a first-ever White House Cinco de Mayo fiesta as ``Jorge.''

Now he is reaching out to Mexico with a plan to revolutionize U.S. immigration laws.

Both supporters and critics say they are stunned by Bush's evolving Mexico policy, including a proposal to grant some form of amnesty to 3 million undocumented Mexican immigrants. And they perceive motivations ranging from a sincere effort to repair a broken immigration system to a wily ploy to capture the burgeoning Latino vote for the Republican Party.

``He's absolutely on the right track,'' said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, who cautioned that the details of Bush's immigration reforms are still unknown. ``He's asking for more than the Congressional Hispanic Caucus asked for last year.''

As to the president's seeming fascination with Mexico, Becerra said ``you have to remember he comes from Texas, which has a long border with Mexico and strong economic, social and historical ties. Bush recognizes and understands the importance of the relationship between our two countries.''

Frank Sharry, director of the National Immigration Forum, a Washington-based group that champions immigrants' legal rights, said Bush's close friendship with Mexican President Vicente Fox appears to be the result of shared backgrounds and interests.

``You have two former governors, one from an immigrant-receiving state (Bush's Texas), the other from a sending state (Fox's Guanajuato in central Mexico),'' he said. ``They are both familiar with the problems facing immigrants on both sides of the border.

``You could almost rank these moves with President Richard Nixon, the anti-Communist, opening up relations with China in 1972.''

Bush is expected to reveal his new immigration plan, which reportedly will include a combination of permanent and temporary visas for Mexicans in the United States illegally, at a state dinner Sept. 5, when Fox is scheduled to visit the White House.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft and their Mexican counterparts lead a working group that is negotiating a new immigration agreement with Mexico.

The Bush-Fox plan would also reportedly include a crackdown in Mexico on immigrant smugglers and a U.S. crackdown on employers who knowingly hire or seek to exploit undocumented-immigrant workers.

And Bush has already asked Congress for additional money to increase staffing at the Immigration and Naturalization Service, with the goal of cutting a multiyear backlog of cases involving immigrants already in the United States.

``No decisions on any ideas have been made,'' said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius. ``The president and his staff are working with a broad base of interest groups and soliciting a wide range of opinions.

``As governor of Texas, the president had an excellent relationship with Mexico. He is also an advocate of free trade with Mexico and living up to the standards of our trade agreements. He believes that trade will improve the quality of life in Mexico and will make Mexico's people less inclined to emigrate for a better life in the U.S.''

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer also said no plans are set but indicated the president might include other Latino immigrants in his immigration reform plan. Latino activists have criticized the proposal as being limited to Mexicans only.

Bush's critics range from fellow Republicans who back strict controls to Democrats concerned that his immigration reforms will exclude other groups, including Central American refugees left in limbo by past amnesty programs. They are also concerned that Bush's reforms will be designed to create a pool of cheap, exploitable and easily deportable labor for business interests.

``This is a kick in the teeth to the thousands of individuals across the world who are legally attempting to enter the United States,'' said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. ``The first lesson these new residents will learn about the U.S. is that it is OK to break the law.''

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, has sought equitable treatment for refugees from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala who were excluded from a previous amnesty program that limited legal status to people fleeing anti-U.S. regimes in Cuba and Nicaragua. He also advocates a program that would allow some longtime immigrant farm workers to apply for legal status.

``The whole question of the large undocumented presence is a serious one and I commend the administration for examining it,'' said Berman. ``I just don't know how it could be limited to people from one country.''

But Guillermo Chacon, spokesman for the New York-based Salvadoran- American National Network, saw hope in Bush's Mexican immigration plan. SANN is a coalition of groups that includes the Salvadoran Association and the Central American Resource Center, both of which serve the estimated 600,000 Salvadorans in Southern California.

``Whoever is advising the president is very smart,'' said Chacon. ``The biggest mistake the Republicans ever made was to mix ideology with immigration, such as with Gov. Pete Wilson and Proposition 187 (approved by voters in 1994) in California. Now Bush is redirecting things and we believe his reforms can eventually help all Latinos. It will also help him capture Mexican-American voters, the largest segment of the Latino community.''

SANN officials and other advocates for Central American immigrants said they were also willing to give Bush's policies a chance in light of a setback they were dealt late last year by Democratic President Clinton.

After vowing for months to veto the federal budget unless it contained an amnesty plan for many Latinos, Clinton gave up the effort in the waning days of his administration.

The 2000 Census showed California is home to 3.8 million legal and undocumented Mexican immigrants. They account for 48 percent of the national total of 7.9 million.

The 2.1 million Mexican immigrants in the five-county Southern California region alone account for 27 percent of the nation's total.

Gabriela Lemus, director of policy and legislation for the League of United Latin American Citizens, echoed the Nixon-opens-China comparison to Bush's Mexico initiatives.

``Sometimes, when changes and ideas come from the right, they're more defensible,'' Lemus said. ``But we don't know the details and we don't know what kind of backlash there will be from conservatives.''