http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010110/wl/mexico_us_1.html

Wednesday January 10, 2001 -- 6:23 PM ET

New U.S.-Mexico Relations Pledged

By LISA J. ADAMS, Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A group of U.S. senators promised a new era in U.S.- Mexico relations Wednesday, pledging to forge a guest-worker program to bring Mexican workers legally into the United States.

The five senators also showered praise on Vicente Fox, saying his new presidency will end decades of stagnation in the countries' relations.

The delegation of four Republicans and one Democrat, led by Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, also said they would work to eliminate a U.S. drug certification law that has created years of tension between the two countries.

Under the program, the State Department annually evaluates the drug-fighting performance of other countries and imposes economic sanctions if they don't pass.

"It was a bad idea to begin with," Gramm said. "It's made everybody unhappy.

"President Fox wants to get rid of it," Gramm said. "We want to get rid of it, and we believe our president (Bush) wants to get rid of it. We're going to get rid of it."

The senators met for 90 minutes with Fox on Tuesday in a session that touched on everything from the North American Free Trade Agreement to congestion at border checkpoints.

Their most significant achievement, they said, was unanimous support for a new guest-worker program for Mexicans that would have the effect of granting amnesty to those currently working illegally in the country - up to 7 million people - while allowing others to apply for work from Mexico in the future.

Gramm said he believes the program could be up and running within a year and that he has no doubt President-elect Bush supports it.

"We're very serious about moving ahead on this," he said. "I think we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get this done."

The senators said the program could grant legal permits to Mexican workers that could be renewed annually - first to those already in the country illegally and then to Mexicans interested in coming to the United States.

The program would issue work permits to those outside the country based on variables such as the U.S. unemployment rate.

Benefits for Mexican workers could include fair wages, protection under U.S. labor laws, medical care and health insurance, Gramm said.

Companies would be more willing to provide training for legal workers they knew were going to stick around and the workers themselves would no longer have to pay the middlemen who make millions of dollars each year by helping them cross the border and find jobs, Gramm said.

Gramm said with a pool of legal Mexican workers in the United States, employers would be less willing to hire illegal workers, significantly reducing the flow from Mexico.

"Mexico stands to gain equitable treatment for its citizens who work in America. That's going to mean human capital and financial capital to help build Mexico," Gramm said.

"What does the United States get? We get control of our borders. We get the ability to stop illegal immigration."

The senators said they would encourage Bush to meet as soon as possible with Fox so that the two can come to terms on the guest-worker program.

The senators predicted strong and improved relations between the United States and Mexico because of what they described as Fox's willingness to move forward.

For 50 years, "Mexican officials were insulted if you wanted to talk to them about this and we were in such denial that we wanted to pretend like it didn't exist," Gramm said. "Then suddenly you got people who really want to fix the problem."

"I've never dealt with a gentleman or any head of state that was as anxious to get going right away," said Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky. "Most people just sit and listen or hand it off to someone else."

Republican Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, said: "I've been a senator 28 years. ... I've never been privileged to sit with a chief executive of a foreign country that impressed me more."