A United States politician has introduced a constitutional amendment in Congress that would allow foreign-born citizens to run for president.

The proposal introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California is seen as an effort to help his friend, state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was born in Austria.

Rohrabacher acknowledged that criticism in a media release on Wednesday, but rejected the charge that the amendment was only intended to help Schwarzenegger, the former bodybuilder and action movie star.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

He suggested that the person he really wanted to help was Tom Lantos, a Democratic congressman from California who was born in Hungary.

"This is no ploy," said Rohrabacher. "I honestly believe that Tom Lantos should be able to seek the highest office in the land, just like any other elected official."

The amendment would allow people who have been U.S. citizens for more than 20 years to run for president. Schwarzenegger became a citizen in 1983.

Rohrabacher said the founding fathers adopted the provision barring foreign-born individuals from the top U.S. job to prevent foreigners from meddling in American democracy.

But once an immigrant demonstrates commitment to America and wins public support as a leader, "then there is no good reason to bar him from seeking the highest office in the land," he said.

Similar motions have been introduced before, by both Democrats and Republicans.

But a change to the U.S. Constitution requires support of two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the backing of 38 state legislatures.

Schwarzenegger is focused on governing California at the moment, a spokesperson told Knight-Ridder Newspapers when asked to comment on Rohrabacher's proposal.

There has been speculation that he would be an attractive Republican candidate in the 2008 election.

A recent poll done by Princeton Survey Research Associates International for Newsweek said Republicans chose Schwarzenegger as the most attractive candidate for the 2008 election, providing the U.S. Constitution was changed.