Mexican President Felipe Calderón spent Tuesday in Chicago as part of his first official visit to the United States. He met with Mayor Richard Daley, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and Mexican American community leaders. Then came the big event. We report from our West Side bureau.

They weren’t your typical Chicagoans from Mexico — the ones who fill many of this town’s worst jobs and live in constant fear of deportation. The Little Village High School gymnasium yesterday was full of blackberries, crisp suits and even a few fur coats. The invitation-only crowd of 1,500 gave Felipe Calderón a warm welcome.

CROWD: Fe-li-pe! Fe-li-pe! Fe-li-pe!

The president didn’t miss the 20 television cameras on his right. He had a simple message from his government to his countrymen in the United States.

CALDERON: Nosotros estamos con ustedes.

“We’re with you,” he said. Calderón called for U.S. immigration reform and decried anti-Mexican sentiment.

CALDERON: Yo sé que los servicios consulares han dejado siempre que desear.

And he promised to shorten lines for passports and other documents at Mexico’s U.S. consulates.

Outside the school, a 42-year-old Mexican handyman worried about red tape of another sort. He says he’s been in the United States for 10 years without papers, that he hasn’t seen his wife and kids back in Mexico City for three years, and that he wants to go home.

HANDYMAN: Quiero llevarme mis cosas…

The handyman says Mexican bureaucrats would impose stiff tariffs on his tools and truck. He wanted to bring it up with President Calderón. But the handyman couldn’t get in without the invitation.

HANDYMAN: Estuve parado aquí afuera en la nieve…

He waited in the snow to speak with Calderón after the speech. But the president’s entourage sped away, headed for a flight to California.