Bush and Fox meet

last updated 8 January 2015

Crawford, Texas

President Bush last week told Mexican President Vicente Fox that he would exempt Mexicans with short-term visas from being fingerprinted and photographed before entering the U.S. The announcement was aimed at soothing relations between the two heads of state, who had a falling out after Sept. 11. First, the U.S. angered Mexico by tightening border security despite Fox’s pleas for freer movement between the two countries. The rift widened when Mexico opposed the Iraq war. But recently both sides have made conciliatory gestures. “Mexico and the U.S. are more than neighbors,” Bush said as Fox visited his Texas ranch. “We are partners in building a safer, more democratic, and more prosperous hemisphere.”