"I am frustrated by this unfortunate and wrong-headed decision that does not provide solutions to the immigration issue," he said. "Instead, it exacerbates the problem, encourages illegal immigration along more complicated and dangerous routes and damages the bilateral relationship." Derbez appeared in the Chamber of Deputies for questioning as part of congressional analysis of President Fox´s State of the Nation Address. His appearance lasted over five hours and he endured harsh criticism from opposition lawmakers.

The foreign secretary said the Fox administration will continue "working to protect the human rights" of Mexicans and regretted the U.S. adoption of a measure for "short-term political calculations."

Derbez said the failure to hammer out a migration accord with the United States this year was the result of the mid-term elections there next month.

Earlier this year, plans for a migration reform in the United States were shelved over differences between the two versions of the bill - one produced by the U.S. House of Representatives and the other by the U.S. Senate.

The foreign minister said that, despite the debate over the border wall, his secretariat was working with U.S. officials so that, once the current electoral season is over, the U.S. Congress can approve "comprehensive immigration reform."

Mexico believes the solution to the immigration problem depends on normalizing the status of the estimated 6 million undocumented Mexicans in the United States and establishing new programs for temporary workers that would allow an ordered and secure flow of migrants across the shared border.

Derbez also deflected criticism over Mexico´s occasionally strained relations with other Latin American countries, denying lawmakers´ claims that Mexico has distanced itself from the rest of the continent.