YONKERS - GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bill Weld told a gathering of Hispanic Republicans on Saturday that he supports congressional legislation to create a guest worker program for undocumented immigrants.

“Congress must pass a comprehensive immigration bill creating a guest worker program that gives hardworking immigrants a path toward citizenship,” Weld said in remarks delivered to the Republican National Hispanic Assembly.

“It's good for the economy and it's good for New York.”

Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts and a candidate for the GOP nomination for governor of New York, said immigrant workers should be treated with respect.

“The American work ethic should be encouraged, and this nation should welcome anyone willing to add energy to our economy,” Weld said.

He alluded to his experience in Massachusetts as a qualification to run for the governor's mansion in Albany.

“When I was governor, I cut spending, I cut taxes, I expanded school choice, I improved Medicaid, I cleaned up the environment and presided over an economy that created over 200,000 new jobs,” he said. “You don't have to take what I say on faith, you can see what I did with your own eyes.”

Also Saturday, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer - the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for governor - spoke at a community gardens event in Manhattan.

Spitzer boasted of helping to save many vacant lots now used as community gardens throughout the city.

“Accessible open space is critically important in a densely populated city like New York and active space, such as gardens, is particularly valuable,” campaign spokeswoman Christine Anderson said.

“Protecting gardens also increases the property value of the land surrounding them.”

Spitzer's opponent for the Democratic nomination, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, campaigned in the Bronx at a gathering of Hispanic ministers.