The US President, George W Bush, has promised to push through legislation that would give legal status to some of the millions of illegal migrants working in the United States.
However, President Bush said that this must be matched by tighter security on the borders with Mexico and Canada.
The promise was made during a summit meeting with the Mexican President, Vicente Fox, and the Canadian leader, Stephen Harper, in Cancun, Mexico.
Mr Bush said he was not in favour of fast-tracking US citizenship for illegal immigrants but promised to try to push through legislation on a work permit system.
