By SUZANNE GAMBOA
The Associated Press
9/4/02 8:06 PM


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Antonio Garza Jr., President Bush's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said Wednesday that foreigners who work in the United States should be able to earn legal status.

An option, Garza said, may be using a law already on the books that is essentially a statute of limitations on an immigrant's illegal status.

In a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Garza said a guest worker program must serve U.S. labor needs and provide a path to legal residency. It can't give amnesty to illegal aliens, he said.

Under the law, anyone who is in the country illegally and can show he has been here since before Jan. 1, 1972, can apply for a green card, denoting legal permanent residence. Applicants also must meet requirements regarding criminal background, family ties and work history, Garza said.

Historically the law, referred to as a registry date, has been updated regularly to create a 20-year statute of limitations, but Congress has failed to update it in recent years.

"In terms of a guest-worker program that is market-driven, that is tied to the realities that you see today, that would protect workers who come to this country, I think there would be generally a lot of agreement around that," said Garza, President Bush's longtime friend and a Texas Railroad Commissioner.

He emphasized he was not speaking on behalf of the Bush administration, which last year was considering a plan to grant guest worker status and eventually legal residency to some of the estimated 3 million Mexican illegal immigrants believed to be in the United States. The negotiations took a back seat after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, although the administration said talks have continued.

Garza was endorsed at the hearing by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

John Dawson, who was nominated to be U.S. ambassador of Peru, and Linda Watt, who was nominated to be ambassador to Panama, also testified before the committee Wednesday.

Dawson is a career Foreign Service officer who has worked in several Latin American countries. Watt is a career Foreign Service officer who has served in many Latin American countries and now works at U.S. Southern Command.