Over the past few weeks the possibility that the United States could reach an agreement with Mexico over plans concerning a guest worker program or general amnesty for illegal Mexican migrants has resurfaced. Several influential lawmakers and members of the Bush administration have made comments hinting at a renewed interest in the ideas, including Senator John McCain, New York City Michael Bloomberg and White House Press Secretary Ari Fleisher.

Mexican President Vicente Fox's calls for US-Mexico immigration reform appeared to have been ignored for a time, part of the fallout resulting from a very public disagreement about Iraq. But in the wake of a quick military victory over Saddam Hussein's regime and the tragedy in Texas that cost the lives of 18 Mexican migrants, it seems lawmakers have realized they will again need to address the issue.

This week speculation grew as the State Department issued a report saying the Administration hopes for Congressional action on 245(i), a guest worker program and legalization. In an interview reported by the Associated Press, Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was "unfortunate that we haven't been able to move as quickly as we all would have liked to have moved."

"We don't want to see things happen such as has happened out in the desert [in Texas] where people desperate to get in this country pay smugglers to transport them illegally across the border and put them at such risk," Powell said. "[President Bush] has assured President Fox on a number of occasions that we haven't lost sight of what we want to do, but it has proven hard."

Perhaps the biggest barriers to the advance of a guest worker program were the terrorist attacks on 9-11 and the resulting scrutiny of our immigration laws and the government services responsible for processing immigrants and patrolling the country's borders. The political upheaval that followed brought about the end of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the reassignment of immigration functions under the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

Since the attacks, many conservative anti-immigration lawmakers have felt justified in blocking progress on Mexican amnesty and the guest worker program. This week, however, even restrictionist lawmaker Tom Tancredo delivered comments hinting at a possible compromise.

"There can be a legal process in which people can come into this country and work if we truly need workers," Representative Tancredo said during a debate on the House floor. "If there are these jobs, and there may very well be, and there are certain industries where I recognize there is a need, then a legal process has to be developed in order to bring people in to get work and so that their rights can be protected, so they can be protected against the abuses of unscrupulous employers, so people coming in here do not have to sell their souls to the coyotes, do not have to be locked into the back of tractor-trailers."

Tancredo said there could be a guest worker program, as long as those who enter on the program are not allowed to become citizens.

"They can come into this country one of two ways legally, if we have a guest worker program or through immigration; but they cannot be the same thing. People cannot come in here and expect to become a citizen through this guest worker program," he said.

Fox has continued his push for an amnesty agreement, most recently during the Group of Eight summit in France. Secretary Powell said the two leaders would not have much time to discuss during the meeting but said that they are in regular contact by phone. For his part, Powell has been working with Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez on other aspects of migration reform, specifically a proposal that would allow Mexican nonimmigrants to renew their visas without having to return home.

Fox wants Mexicans to be able to "come to our country legally and be received and have an opportunity to earn a living and take money back to Mexico and take skills back to Mexico. They want to go back to their home," Powell said.

Many advocates now believe that Fox will get his wish, because immigration has become a hot issue for the 2004 campaign. The Hispanic population will play a significant role in determining who will hold the office, and political analysts say President Bush has pinned his reelection hopes on his ability to deliver real progress.

There is also strong support for immigration reform on the Democratic side of the aisle. Senator Joe Lieberman, the former vice-presidential candidate and current Democratic front-runner, was quoted by the Tuscon Citizen saying "If I were President today, I would immediately invited President Vicente Fox to the White House to sit and talk. Let's get something done... If it doesn't happen before Jan. 20, 2005, it's one of the first things I'll do when I'm privileged to enter the Oval Office."

Lieberman said he thought the guest-worker program should be accompanied with a legalization program for those already working in the United States.

Immigration law portal ILW.com has been tracking such comments on 245(i) and plans for a guest worker program. Editor Sam Udani recently wrote in ILW.com's Immigration Daily newsletter that, "legalization is surely coming, the question is merely when. The day for legalization will come when the political stars are aligned."