Immigration reform is up to Senate

The U.S. Senate returns to work this week with no certainty it will resume debate on comprehensive immigration reform. Western governors strongly urge the Senate to avoid fractious debate and find the middle ground on this critical piece of legislation that a majority of U.S. citizens are demanding.

The Western Governors' Association has offered a solid framework that includes increased border security, employment-based visas, a temporary guest worker program and state reimbursement for enforcement. Our list of priorities is a comprehensive one based in the realities we face every day in our states.

The deepening economic, historic and long-term social ties between Mexico and the United States have resulted in hundreds of millions of legal crossings every year along the U.S.-Mexico border. The agricultural and hospitality industries, in particular, have become heavily dependent upon a stable and reliable foreign labor pool.

The flip side of the coin is that without a lawful avenue to provide sufficient seasonal employees, current law actually encourages unlawful migration to the United States. More than 1 million people cross the border illegally each year, resulting in a disproportionate financial burden to our states' health care, education, environmental and criminal justice systems.

Enforcement alone is not the answer; similarly, a guest worker program, alone, is no panacea for long-term success. We recommend a wide attack: not only reform of our current visa system, but also a reduction of bureaucratic red tape and an emphasis on new technologies.

Key elements of our framework include:

Technology-driven border control. Adequate funding of law enforcement personnel and infrastructure is essential, along with cutting-edge enforcement technology that allows all levels of enforcement to share comprehensive databases, while safeguarding our privacy. Unmanned aerial vehicles and ground-based sensors and radar would improve intrusion detection. Cyber ports and fast lanes would reduce federal delays and bureaucracy at ports of entry.

Reform the visa system and widen our legal labor pool. The visa system must be streamlined so employers will use it, not shun it. This requires a streamlined process and sufficient numbers of visas to meet U.S. employer demands, especially in the high-tech and biotech industries and seasonal agriculture and hospitality operations.

A guest worker program without amnesty. Foreign labor should not be a substitute for U.S. workers. A guest worker program should supplement areas where there are documented shortages of U.S. workers. Biometric and tamper-resistant identification tools should be used in performing background checks. Current federal employer sanctions for knowingly hiring undocumented labor must be enforced, and employers need an electronic, secure, reliable and fast employment-verification system 24/7.

Address the root causes by engaging with Mexico and Latin America. The federal government must aggressively and more effectively address the root cause of illegal immigration, not just its consequences. The first step is to begin working with the Mexican and Latin American governments to generate economic growth, improve the standard of living and promote ownership in those countries.

Western governors call on Congress -- Republican and Democrat -- to not delay and come together to enact immigration reform that will restore our respect for the rule of law and our rich immigrant heritage while preparing our economy and work force for a changing world.

Janet Napolitano is the Democratic governor of Arizona. Jon Huntsman Jr. is the Republican governor of Utah.

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