A protester marches during a rally against the visit of President Bush in the city of Merida, Mexico, on Monday. A few hundred protesters marched to the gates protecting the hotel where Bush will be lodged during his stay.

MERIDA, Mexico — Mexican President Felipe Calderon has a tough message for President Bush: The United States must do more — "much more" — to solve thorny issues of drug-trafficking and immigration.

At the last stop on his Latin American tour, Bush must convince Calderon today that he's committed to soothing strained U.S.-Mexico relations, which only got worse when Bush signed a law calling for construction of more than 700 miles of new fencing along the long border the two countries share.

Many Latin Americans see the fence as evidence that America is ripping up its welcome mat.

The welcome mat here for Bush's talks with Mexico's newly elected leader is muddied with anti-American sentiment, particularly over the war in Iraq.

Security is extremely tight in Merida, a city on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Schools are closed. The area around the hotels where Bush and Calderon are staying is guarded by police and surrounded by metal barriers. Before Bush's arrival Monday evening, about 200 people marched through the streets, carrying Mexican flags and chanting "Bush is a murderer and he's not welcome!"

When he first became president, Bush promised that Latin American would vault to the top of his agenda. But after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the administration's focus was riveted on South Asia and the Middle East. That left many Mexicans feeling neglected by their northern neighbor, and some view Bush's trip as a case of too little, too late.

Bush and Calderon's two days of talks are meant to better the U.S.-Mexico relationship, not yield dramatic announcements. The two have some things in common. Both went to Harvard University. Both are conservative and pro-business. Each wants to stem illegal immigration. Yet Calderon has a more wonkish and less charismatic personality than his predecessor Vincente Fox, who like Bush, owned a ranch.

The two are expected to discuss port security and modernizing customs on both sides of the border to speed trade. Immigration and drug trafficking likely will dominate their discussions.

Bush's five-nation tour of Latin America is acting as a counterweight to Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's leftist leader who is carrying the flag for the leftward shift in Latin America. The Mexican leader has said he's not interested in being Bush's front man for battling Chavez' rising influence.

Calderon, a conservative who barely won the July election, is under pressure from a strong leftist opposition to alleviate poverty affecting half of Mexico's citizens.