Last week, Mr. Gephardt told a crowd of enthusiastic Hispanics that to pass his bill, "we need a Democratic majority" in Congress. Actually, all we really need is for the Bush Administration to revive its pre-9/11 plans for addressing the Rio Grande influx. Aside from helping to secure Latino votes, which explains Mr. Gephardt's timing, a sensible policy on Mexican immigration would both enhance border security and satisfy pressing needs of the U.S. economy.

An estimated three million undocumented Mexicans already live and work in the U.S. Contrary to what critics say about "stealing" American jobs, the truth is that they fill mostly menial slots that Americans would sooner spurn. They are field hands, nannies, landscapers, custodians, busboys, dishwashers, chambermaids and construction workers. According to the Labor Department, by 2010 there will be more than 20 million job openings for people with minimal education. Mexican workers aren't a problem; they're a solution.

The American Immigration Law Foundation reports that the U.S. economy absorbed three million Mexican workers during the 1990s, yet unemployment still fell to 3.9% in 2000 from 6.3% in 1990. A decade ago California, Texas and Illinois accounted for 85% of these individuals. Today that number has dropped to 68% as the demand for immigrant labor has spread to places like Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas and Minnesota. And where they go, market expansion follows. Cities and states with the largest immigrant populations have experienced faster economic growth and lower unemployment.

Somehow our system must address the illegal status of the three million Mexicans who are already here and better accommodate those inevitably coming tomorrow. A blanket amnesty, which was tried in 1986, isn't the answer since it would only encourage more illegals and necessitate future amnesties.

Far better is to provide ways for individuals to earn legal status. For illegals already in the country, the criteria for obtaining a permanent visa should include demonstration of stable employment and tax compliance. Those who don't already speak English should have to show they're trying to learn.

In addition, we need more channels for legal entry into the U.S. The two countries share a 2,000-mile border with 43 points of entry. So long as Mexicans believe a better life awaits them in America, they will come--legally or illegally. We should encourage them to take the legal route by implementing guest worker programs and increasing the quotas for temporary and permanent visas.

All these were among the proposals being discussed by President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox before September 11. They are even more important today. The aim is to ensure that immigrants are properly processed by border officials. Their identities could be confirmed, and we would know who was entering the country and why.

Giving those already here an opportunity to come clean would also help bring them out of the shadows. Right now, the incentive is to go underground and stay there. Fewer resources spent chasing hard-working Mexicans means more resources spent sorting through genuine terrorist threats.

Despite these benefits, the political sell stateside is difficult for Mr. Bush. "The emotional popular reaction," says Douglas Rivlin of the National Immigration Forum, "is that foreigners knocked down the Trade Center and Pentagon, so foreigners are bad." It also doesn't help the President that anti-immigration groups like the Center for Immigration Studies, and outspoken GOP restrictionists--like Representatives Lamar Smith of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado--favor us-versus-them demagoguery.

There's another reason Mr. Bush should revive his immigration talks with Mr. Fox, whom he's scheduled to visit later this month. The cold political reality, as Democrats like Mr. Gephardt know, is that the Hispanic population is America's fastest-growing ethnic group. A deal with Mr. Fox would have symbolic importance and resonate with Latinos. A Pew Center poll last month found that 85% of Hispanic voters support giving illegal immigrants "a path to legal status."