Agricultural Personnel Management Program
University of California

As the new U.S. ambassador stepped off the plane in Mexico City, State Department officials back in Washington were already questioning comments he apparently made to Mexican newspapers.

In interviews published over the weekend by Mexico City newspapers, Tony Garza was quoted as saying the Bush Administration would propose legalizing the status of many long-term illegal residents, though without granting them citizenship, and expanding guest-worker programs.

A State Department official said Thursday he was unaware of that plan, though he said the ambassador might know something the State Department did not - an indication that, in the best of cases, Garza and his supervisors are not yet on the same page. The official, who spoke on condition he not be identified, was briefing reporters about Secretary of State Colin Powell's upcoming visit to Mexico.

The official also said it did not make sense to make proposals to Mexico on migration that may not have a chance of approval by Congress. Garza's reported statements were more detailed and definite than earlier administration proposals.

Before the Sept. 11 terror attacks put immigration reform on the back burner, the White House said it was considering a plan to grant guest worker status and eventually legal residency to some of the 3 million Mexican illegal immigrants believed to be in the United States, while opposing a blanket amnesty.

"What I would like to see is us have a debate to establish some criteria to legalize these people who have been part of our community" for a long time, Garza was quoted as telling the newspaper Reforma.

Reforma said he estimated that about 12 to 15 percent of the undocumented Mexican population in the United States had been there for more than 10 years, establishing a commitment to the country.

"I believe that we should recognize them, giving them some sort of status," he was quoted as saying.

Garza arrived in Mexico City Thursday and was to present his credentials to President Vicente Fox on Friday. Until then, he is not formally recognized as ambassador by both countries.