Editorial: Seeking a sane policy

Thursday, March 30, 2006 | 6:34 a.m.

The U.S. Senate is debating a proposal that would give immigrants who hold jobs in the United States some options for working toward legal citizenship.

The measure - which has portions that have earned bipartisan support from Democrats and Republicans, including President Bush - would allow up to 1.5 million agriculture workers into the United States and provide 400,000 additional green cards for immigrants in other industries. It also would double U.S. Border Patrol forces and prevent charitable organizations from being prosecuted for providing assistance to illegal residents.

On its face, the measure seems to strike a sane balance between securing our nation's borders and encouraging industrious new residents to move here. And it does so without the draconian provisions of a Republican-backed measure passed by the House that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally or to assist or hire anyone who is. The House proposal also lacks a mechanism for allowing undocumented residents to continue working in the United States as guests while they work toward legal residency.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, recently released a report that says fewer than half of the nation's estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants fit the stereotype of young men sneaking across the border to work and send money to families back home. "A vast majority of this population is families," a Pew researcher told the Associated Press.

About 25 percent of them arrive here legally and then overstay their visas, the Pew researcher said. Illegal immigrants make up about 5 percent of the nation's workforce . About 36 percent of all insulation workers, 29 percent of agriculture workers and 29 percent of roofers are illegal immigrants.

If we sent them all home tomorrow, there likely is no way employers could find enough American workers to fill those jobs, which often pay little. We must secure our nation's borders and set limits on the number of immigrants who move here, but we also must find ways to embrace those who already are here performing valuable tasks and provide avenues for them to stay - legally.