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14 Oct 2004 | Associated Press

(10-14) 10:27 PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) --

Republicans Abroad made a final push Thursday in Mexico for the Hispanic vote, calling a news conference to urge Mexicans and dual citizens to support U.S. President George W. Bush.

Larry Rubin, president of the group's Mexico chapter, said Bush will work with Congress -- which he said will "definitely" be Republican -- to pass a migration accord that will allow more people to work legally in the States.

In January, Bush proposed a temporary work program that has so far stalled in Congress, which is currently held by Republicans.

"Bush understands the problems of the border and knows the Mexican people," Rubin said, adding: "The Democrats don't have a clear plan for Latin America."

He said that his group was making a last push this week to register Americans and dual citizens to cast absentee ballots.

"I think Americans know their vote counts more than ever," he said.

Democrats Abroad has also campaigned for the votes of the estimated 1 million Americans and dual citizens living in Mexico.

Those campaigns are also meant to convince Mexicans here to influence relatives living in the United States, where there are more than 20 million people of Mexican origin.

The campaign and debates have been closely watched in Mexico, where President Vicente Fox has lobbied Bush for four years to pass a migration accord.

While Bush made Mexico a priority after taking office, the Sept. 11 attacks shelved migration talks and many Mexicans felt they had been forgotten as the U.S. waged its war on terror.

On Thursday, Mexico City's Reforma newspaper ran a front-page headline under a picture of Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry shaking hands that read: "They gave migrants four minutes."

In the debate, both candidates expressed support for a migration accord, although Bush said he didn't support an amnesty program. Kerry said a temporary work program wasn't enough and that people who have spent years working in the United States should be legalized.

Diego Garcia, a 30-year-old financial analyst in Mexico City, said he hadn't seen any of the debates, but supported Kerry because Bush had failed to fulfill migration promises and to fully turn around the U.S. economy.

"Bush might be a friend of Fox's, but he is not a friend of the Mexicans," he said.