More than 3 million Mexicans now live in the United States illegally. This is a problem, but it doesn’t have to be under President Bush’s new plan.

The president’s plan involves giving permanent legal residency to those Mexican immigrants currently residing in the country.

Most likely, immigrants would be considered for legal residency based upon family ties and the amount of time they have lived in the United States.

The plan will have to face Congress before taking effect and influential Republicans in the House and Senate aren’t thrilled about the idea. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, told The New York Times the program would have to pass over his “cold, dead political body.”

Mexican President Vicente Fox supports the plan, and has advocated it during his current Midwest tour.

Three million illegal immigrants are working very hard to make a living in the United States. They work at the lowest-paying jobs and in sometimes poor conditions. From New York to San Francisco, they cover the country and they’re not going away.

The country has an immigration problem, so it needs to tighten up the U.S.-Mexico border. That doesn’t help the immigrants who are already here.

Poor economic conditions in Mexico have forced many people to look for opportunity elsewhere. It just so happens it’s illegal.

It’s hard to blame Mexico for its economic woes when it has often been U.S. companies taking advantage of cheap Mexican labor.

The people there are underprivileged - they need options. It can’t hurt to make the immigrants who are already here legal.

Again, the critics of immigration have surfaced, complaining about wages and job availability.

We can’t kick 3 million people out of the country - it won’t work and it hasn’t worked. The jobs they have aren’t going to become available if Bush’s plan doesn’t go through.

Legalizing illegal workers will most likely raise their wages. There will be less under-the-table payment when workers are making at least minimum wage.

It will do away with the injustice illegal immigrants face because they don’t have the support of the law. Not only that, but 3 million more taxpayers will certainly benefit the government’s wallet.

It’s only fair to make all workers pay taxes. Illegal immigrants can currently take advantage of community health services and some government functions so they might as well be contributing.

Republicans who are afraid this move by Bush will hurt the party are self-serving and need to start thinking about the bigger picture. This is not about political stability, it’s about doing what is rational and fair.

Illegal immigrants are not to be blamed for their search for opportunity. Still, it needs to be clear this won’t become a habit. If our immigration policy was different, we wouldn’t have to deal with this problem.

Let them stay, but start figuring out how to fix the problem in the future.