Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has finally called for the immigration reform that President Barack Obama has been promising since he was campaigning for president. Napolitano said Friday that border security and immigration enforcement have improved, which Congress set as a condition for updating the nation's immigration system.
We have long supported a variety of solutions to the immigration problem, and welcome Napolitano's indication that the administration is ready to take on this contentious issue.
An immigration reform package should include several basic elements, including the enhanced border security that Napolitano says has been implemented. We'll have to see an independent review of the administration's claims in this area. Border security is a foundational issue to limit the growth of the problem and protect the nation from terrorists.
There also must be a fair guest-worker program that provides industries needing foreign laborers a reliable pool of workers.
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