Reform immigration

Time to get back to reforming U.S. immigration policy.

Even Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose job is to keep bad guys out, is ready to consider a policy that acknowledges the huge, illegal work force that harvests U.S. crops and does menial jobs. He said as much last week in Miami, sending another signal that the Bush administration might be willing to restart immigration-reform efforts.

Grappling with the question of securing the homeland, Ridge shrewdly made the connection that it's better to know who is in the country than not to know. Our flawed immigration policy and haphazard enforcement has encouraged a system that permits businesses — not just agriculture — to rely on unauthorized workers who are subject to abuse and exploitation.

Ridge's comments come a few weeks after Secretary of State Colin Powell and his Mexican counterpart agreed to resume the immigration dialogue. And at least three congressional proposals that would give temporary legal status to workers have been introduced.

Ridge opposes rewarding people who break U.S. law with citizenship. He's right about that. But a system that legally acknowledges those who inevitably cross the border likely would help make the United States more secure.

Although the election year reduces the chances for major reform, the Bush administration and Congress seem ready to have this long-delayed conversation.