Moreover, the Senate floor debate made it clear that there's a real world demand for immigrant workers if U.S. agriculture is going to remain productive and competitive. Senator George Voinovich of Ohio, where agribusiness contributes $73 billion a year to the economy, told fellow Members that AgJobs reforms are necessary for the industry to stay strong and vibrant.

Mr. Voinovich also described how flexible labor markets can operate to everyone's advantage. "Agricultural economists tell us each farmworker job in these [fruit, vegetable, nursery crops] industries supports 3 1/2 jobs in the surrounding economy: processing, packaging, transportation, equipment, supplies, lending, and insurance," said the Senator. "They are good jobs, filled by Americans. We lose them if we do not do this the right way."

President Bush believes the "right way" is a guest-worker program not only for agriculture but other industries as well. But restrictionists continue to insist that illegal immigration can be stopped through enforcement measures alone, such as those in the REAL ID Act that passed the House in March and is now being considered by Congress as part of the supplemental spending bill.

Among other things, illegal immigrants would be denied drivers' licenses under REAL ID, and asylum seekers would face greater scrutiny. Last week, the White House lent its support to the bill in hopes of receiving some reciprocal cooperation for its guest-worker initiative. We understand the strategy, but the asylum measures are unnecessary given reforms of the mid-1990s. As for licenses, applying for one is an act of trying to obey the law; denying them will merely cause immigrants to drive unlicensed and uninsured. The spectacle of a GOP Congress imposing this unfunded mandate on the states is also embarrassing; what's next, a return of the 55 mile-per-hour national speed limit?

So long as the U.S. shares a 2,000-mile border with a developing nation, we'll never reduce the illegal flow with punitive measures that ignore the market forces luring foreign workers here in the first place. The best way to decrease the number of illegal crossings, while also satisfying our economic needs, is to give immigrants more legal ways to come. Under the World War II-era bracero program, which allowed Mexican workers entry to meet the labor demands of American growers, illegal border crossings fell.

The U.S. border-enforcement budget has quintupled since 1993 -- one of the highest growth rates in the federal government after defense spending. Yet the illegal immigrant population in the U.S. has continued to increase. Readers may remember the days when conservatives criticized liberals for throwing money at policies that aren't working.

With its majority Senate support, the AgJobs bill is a sign that Mr. Bush's guest-worker idea isn't as dead as advertised by the anti-immigration right. It deserves to be considered as a stand-alone measure, and the sooner the better. Everyone complains about the lack of bipartisanship in Washington. But here's a case where business and labor have joined with Democrats and Republicans to address what all agree is a problem. So why not get it done?