"It's difficult to tell a constituency while unemployment is rising, they're losing their jobs and their homes, that what we should do is in fact legalize (illegal immigrants) and stop all deportation," Biden told a news conference in the Costa Rican capital.

President Barack Obama said during his election campaign that he supported comprehensive immigration reform, as countries like Mexico have been urging for years.

Some 12 million illegal immigrants live in the United States, many from Mexico and Central America. The economic crisis has made many U.S. workers more hostile to legalizing those without papers.

"We believe, the president and I, that this problem can only be solved in the context of an overall immigration reform," Biden said, asked about the chances of extending temporary migrant protection programs.

"We need some forbearance as we try to put together a comprehensive approach to deal with this."

Biden was in Costa Rica to meet Central American leaders at an informal regional summit.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politics ... SE20090330