[JURIST] Mexican President Vicente Fox [official website, in Spanish] has lauded Monday's approval by the US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] of an immigration bill that would provide temporary work visas to undocumented workers in the US and that rejected a House proposal to make the "unlawful presence" of undocumented aliens a felony rather than a misdemeanor. Fox credited huge marches by Mexicans [JURIST report] and other protestors in the US as a major contributor to the favorable vote, saying it moves the Mexican government closer to its goal of legalization for all Mexican migrants in the US.

US Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza [official profile] has nonetheless warned Mexican citizens in a letter [text] that the Senate Judiciary Committee proposal still must be passed by Congress and said the debate is likely to be "heated and at times contentious." Other parts of the bill propose increased border patrol efforts and the construction of a fence along 700 of the 2,000 miles of US-Mexican border. AP has more.