Bush to push today for immigration reform in televised speech

With his popularity at all-time lows, Bush will speak from the Oval Office in the White House as the Senate resumes debate on legislation that could lead to legalization of at least part of the estimated 11.5 million undocumented workers in the United States.

According to US media, Bush will use the 8:00 pm (0000 GMT) speech to announce the deployment of troops to the border, a measure approved on Thursday in the House of Representatives as a way to halt the smuggling of drugs and people.

The immigration debate has divided Republicans ahead of legislative elections in November, as some call for the creation of a guest-worker programme while others want tougher laws.

"I think members of the House will like what the president has to say on border security," a senior administration official told the Washington daily on condition of anonymity.

Bush's possible deployment of troops could help settle differences among his fellow Republicans.

"Congressional Republicans who back Bush's call for a guest-worker programme and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants say (the deployment) is precisely what they need to win over House conservatives," the Washington Post said Saturday.

The announcement of Bush's address coincided with a meeting Friday between Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and his Mexican counterpart, General Clemente Ricardo Vega, at the Pentagon's invitation, to discuss border security.

The differences between what the Senate means by "immigration reform" and what was passed in December by the House of Representatives highlights the strong differences within the Republican Party.