Mexico\'s President-Elect Discusses Immigration Policy With Obama

The incoming president of Mexico visited President Obama in the White House on Tuesday and vowed to help him pass comprehensive legislation overhauling the American immigration system even as Republicans begin looking for a bill they can support too.

Enrique Peña Nieto, who will be inaugurated as Mexico's president on Saturday, made the customary stop in Washington first to get acquainted with his northern counterpart. His arrival coincided with a postelection political shift in Washington that has given fresh momentum to long-stalled proposals to liberalize immigration policy.

“We fully support your proposal, sir, for this migration reform,” Mr. Peña Nieto told Mr. Obama in the Oval Office. “More than demanding what you should do or shouldn't do, we do want to tell you that we want to contribute. We really want to participate with you. We want to contribute towards the accomplishment.”

Mr. Peña Nieto's visit came on the same day that two re tiring Republican senators unveiled their own proposal to make it easier for immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children to stay, a sign of the rapidly evolving politics of immigration.

Senators Jon Kyl of Arizona and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas introduced what they called the Achieve Act as an alternative to the so-called Dream Act supported by Mr. Obama and most Democrats. The Kyl-Hutchison plan would give legal residency to many younger illegal immigrants, but not a path to citizenship as the Democratic version would.

“Many young people in this country are here illegally through no fault of their own,” the two senators said in a joint written statement. “Relegating a potentially productive portion of the population to the shadows is neither humane nor good economic or social policy.”

A number of prominent conservatives, including Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, former Gov. Haley Barbour of Mis sissippi and the Fox News host Sean Hannity, have embraced some moves toward easing immigration rules since this month's election. Latinos made up 10 percent of the electorate for the first time and overwhelmingly supported Mr. Obama's re-election.

Unless they relax the party's traditional hard line on illegal immigration, some Republicans believe they risk long-term political damage. As a result, the White House, which had largely abandoned immigration legislation since Republicans took control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections in favor of less sweeping executive action, now sees a chance for early bipartisan consensus on the issue in the new year.

The Kyl-Hutchison proposal would extend legal residency to illegal immigrants seeking college degrees or serving in the military who entered the country before the age of 14, have lived here for five years, have not committed a felony, can demonstrate knowledge of English and are still 28 or younger, or 32 if they have a degree from an American college. They would be denied access to public welfare benefits, federal student loans or other federal benefits.

Immigration activists rejected the proposal. United We Dream, a network of young immigrants, called it “a cynical political gesture” because it does not provide a road map to citizenship. “We won't stop fighting until we win citizenship for every single new American,” Lorella Praeli, the group's advocacy and policy director, said in a statement.

In addressing reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Peña Nieto did not elaborate on how he hoped to help Mr. Obama pass immigration legislation. Before arriving at the White House, he visited Capitol Hill, where he had a photo opportunity with Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic minority leader. “We hope to address the migration issue by having comprehensive immigration reform brought before the Congress when the president sends it to us,” she said.

After several years in which security and drugs dominated the Mexican-American relationship, Mr. Peña Nieto stressed that he wanted to talk about a variety of other issues as well, including jobs, trade, North American integration and education.

Mr. Obama announced that he would send Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to Mr. Peña Nieto's inauguration on Saturday and hinted that he would visit himself in 2013. “Any excuses to go to Mexico,” Mr. Obama said, “I'm always game.”