"The United States and Mexico are best friends," he said, "and we always will be."

The visit to Puebla by Mr. Daschle and Mr. Gephardt came at the end of an official visit, which the legislators said was intended to re-energize talks between the United States and Mexico on immigration reform. Talks between high-level members of the Mexican government and the Bush administration are scheduled to begin again on Tuesday for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

President Vicente Fox of Mexico, advocating the freer flow of goods and people across the 2,000-mile border, had pushed the United States to adopt a series of immigration changes by the end of this year, including the legalization of about three million undocumented Mexicans working in the United States and the expansion of guest-worker programs. President Bush had promised to work toward that goal. But then the terrorist assaults on New York and Washington threw the talks into uncertainty.

Mr. Bush has said that he remains committed to negotiations with Mexico and Congress on changing immigration rules. However, Republicans are divided over the principal initiatives, especially programs that would legalize undocumented immigrants.

Mr. Daschle and Mr. Gephardt's appearance in Mexico over the weekend seemed intended to demonstrate the Democrats' support for Mexico's proposals. Some political analysts pointed out that the visit was part of an effort by the Democrats to build support among the growing population of Latino voters in the United States.   [ Continue........ ]