Mexican President Vincente Fox treated his visit to Utah like a Merrill Lynch commercial: When he speaks, everyone is supposed to listen.

Gov. Huntsman's office announced that Fox would not take questions at any of his public appearances, including at the Utah Legislature's special session Wednesday. This is a breach of that body's past practice and protocol. When dignitaries and members of the congressional delegation visit Utah's Capitol Hill, lawmakers traditionally ask questions. And they should.

Fox's staff claimed the no-question policy was the result of a tight schedule. The president is visiting Washington state and California during his whirlwind tour of the United States.

But few whirlwinds are so strong that there really isn't time. It looks more as though Fox was trying to dodge the illegal immigration bullet, especially in a state where many people have little sympathy for people sneaking across the southern border or overstaying visas. Fox's carefully crafted statements about cooperation (how do you say "liar, liar, pants on fire" in Spanish?) allowed him to escape substantive discussion.

Americans deserve to question Fox and hear his responses in light of charges that his government does little or nothing to discourage its citizens from heading north. Fox's Foreign Ministry actually created a booklet advising people on the best way to cross the U.S. border. While the book is aimed at those who "have made the difficult decision to seek new work opportunities" outside Mexico, it acts as an invitation for Mexico's poor to hit the road -- which would relieve some of the burden on the country's welfare system. It also generates a massive, free cash flow.

Granted, American politicians are not innocent when it comes to ducking hard questions, either by taking no questions at some events or making sure the people asking the questions are pitching softballs. But eventually they are forced to face the music, either from the public or its proxies in the media.

While Fox may be accustomed to ducking questions when he's in Mexico (a country not known for its press freedom), he's not in Mexico anymore. Here, we have a fine tradition of calling government officials to account. While Fox may not represent the American people, we are affected by his policies and have a right to demand answers during a goodwill visit. Silence is not golden in this case.

If Fox sees the illegal exodus as a way to alleviate his country's grinding poverty -- sending people away and having them send back U.S. dollars -- we should let him know that is unacceptable.

If he doesn't approve of illegal immigration, as he claims, then we have the right to know what he is doing to turn back the tide.

By refusing to answer questions, Fox did little to buy any good will with his neighbors in Utah. The gambit suggests that our concerns about immigration are not worth his time, or that he is not going to let facts get in the way of his bon mots.

We can only hope that Huntsman was able to express the concerns Utahns have about immigration during private meetings. Not that it will do any good.