Crawford, Texas ? President Bush gave Mexican President Vicente Fox a gift to take home Saturday: his pledge to exempt certain frequent Mexican visitors from onerous new security checks at the U.S. border.

The visit by Fox to Bush’s central Texas ranch, held a year and a half after it was originally scheduled, was designed to lay past disputes to rest. But with Bush eager to boost his standing in the U.S. Hispanic community, the nation’s fastest-growing voting bloc, American politics were never far from the agenda.

Bush used the leaders’ joint appearance before Mexican and American reporters to make clear how he saw the November election, in which he almost certainly will face Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. “The question is who brings forth the best pro-growth policies … who (is) best to lead this country in the war on terror,” he said.

Over intimate meals, relaxed discussions and an early-morning drive through Bush’s 1,600-acre property, Bush and Fox aimed to look forward, not back.

The warm ties that characterized the two leaders’ relationship three years ago had soured after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Bush shelved work on a migration accord coveted by Mexico; Fox abruptly backed out of a planned visit to Bush’s ranch in August 2002 about a death-penalty dispute and refused to back Bush on an Iraq war at the United Nations.

On Saturday, the two men sought to project an air of cooperation on immigration, trade, Haiti and anti-terrorism measures. Neither publicly mentioned other divisive matters — such as the water Mexico owes the United States or a continued disagreement over Mexicans on death row in the United States — that still divide the North American neighbors.

“Mexico and the United States are more than neighbors,” Bush said Saturday, sprinkling Spanish throughout his remarks. “We are partners in building a safer, more democratic and more prosperous hemisphere.”

Still, there was very little of the effusive mutual admiration that usually features prominently in Bush’s appearances with world leaders.

Though immigration issues were foremost on Fox’s mind, he left Texas with some new assurances but no ironclad agreements.

President Bush, right, and Mexico's President Vicente Fox tour the grounds of Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. The two discussed Bush's hopes to eliminate some fingerprinting of Mexican visitors.

Under the US-VISIT program, already in use at many airports and seaports, visitors from certain countries must be fingerprinted and photographed before entering the United States. When the system is expanded later this year to the busiest land entry points as well, it would ensnare the many Mexicans who regularly travel back and forth with so-called border-crossing cards.

Fox said the fingerprinting and photograph requirement now wouldn’t apply for border-crossing card holders, celebrating “the news that was confirmed today with regard to visitors to the U.S. from Mexico.”

Fox also applauded work by the two leaders to advance a proposal Bush offered in January to give temporary visas to illegal immigrants, most from Mexico, already working in the United States.

But Bush was pessimistic about the prospects for congressional passage of his temporary worker proposal, saying “there’s no telling what’s going to happen in an election year.” Also, he said little about the border-crossing issue, while his aides signaled it was far from settled.