Proposals to tighten border controls in the US have been condemned by Mexican and Central American foreign ministers.
In a declaration, they said migrants should not be treated as criminals, no matter what their legal status.
They urged the US to set up a guest worker programme, and to give legal recognition to the millions of illegal migrants already inside its borders.
The comments are seen as a response to a US bill to increase border fences and criminalise illegal immigration.
The bill was approved by the House of Representatives in December but has not yet passed the Senate, which is due to debate it in February.
'Integrated reform'
The declaration issued by the foreign ministers of Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador did not mention the US bill specifically.
"Partial measures that only seek to toughen immigration policy don't represent a solution"
The bill contemplates the building of a 700-mile (1,130-km) fence along parts of the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) US-Mexico border.
It also proposes that all those living and working illegally in the US should be classified as criminals.
"Partial measures that only seek to toughen immigration policy don't represent a solution," the Mexican and Central American ministers said.
"Migrants, regardless of their migratory status, are not and should not be treated like criminals.
"There has to be an integrated reform that includes temporary-worker programmes, but also the regularisation of those people who are living in receptor countries."
Mexico is the largest source of immigration to the US.
An estimated 10 million Mexicans live and work there - about half of them without the right papers. The remittances they send back home are an important source of income for Mexico.
The ministers also acknowledged that efforts to combat human trafficking had to be redoubled.
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