PROVO — When he started as Mexico's ambassador to the United States, Carlos de Icaza decided he needed to see firsthand the situation along the Arizona-Mexico border.

He asked a young, dehydrated migrant why he didn't find another way.

"He looked at me with very sad eyes, and said, 'You see, sir, for people like me there is no other way,' " de Icaza told about 250 people Thursday who attended a lecture at Brigham Young University.

De Icaza said international cooperation is essential in order to manage the flow of immigration in a "humane, dignified, legal way."

"When governments, lawmakers, don't solve things, the markets do it," de Icaza said. "And when the markets do it, they don't take into account the human dimension."

The BYU speech was part of a visit that de Icaza said he hoped would pave the way for deeper ties with Utah, a state which he says is bonded to his nation by religion since many of his countrymen adhere to the LDS faith held by a majority of Utahns.

The ambassador had also met Thursday with the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and also with Mexican community leaders. He plans to meet today with business leaders, Utah Senate and House leadership and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

He said his meeting with Huntsman would be a follow-up to the governor's "very successful visit" to Mexico and to "see if we can have the Mexican president coming soon to Utah."

Business ties and education were two areas de Icaza pointed to as potential partnerships.

"Utah is a very promising partner for Mexico," de Icaza said. "You have a very dynamic economy in several sectors."

During his presentation, de Icaza pointed to a strong Mexican economy, which is ranked 10th in the world. However, he acknowledged his country also has great poverty.

"This big magnet of your economy is attracting so many people," he said, adding that the United States, Mexico and Canada need to work together on economic and security issues "to build a shared vision for North America's future."

He pointed to some stark figures — one or two deaths on the U.S.-Mexico border daily, and some 1,500 people being deported each day — as evidence that both nations need to do better at the border. However, he also pointed to 900,000 legal border crossings each day as evidence the two nations are cooperating.

De Icaza acknowledged there are costs from immigration but also benefits. He said the $17 billion Mexicans living in the United States send home is roughly 10 percent of their income, and the remainder is spent here.

After his presentation, de Icaza received a standing ovation by many of those attending; a handful of Minutemen weren't impressed. A member of their group asked why Mexico doesn't help cover the costs of illegal immigration.

"It's the same old litany of globalism," said Alex Segura of the Utah Minuteman Project. "He didn't even cover crime or drug issues ."

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com