Though immigration reform was a major plank in the Barack Obama campaign platform, the topic has remained, by necessity, in the background as the new administration grappled with the more pressing issues of the economy, health care reform and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. No more. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said last week that Mr. Obama will make comprehensive immigration reform a priority in the new year. The willingness to take on another difficult issue is commendable.

Immigration reform certainly is in order. For years, the nation’s borders were far too porous, resulting in a flow of illegal immigrants impossible to control or to quantify. For years, any effort to reform a broken system quickly became a casualty of political infighting. President George W. Bush tried to push through meaningful changves in immigration rules in 2007, but his proposals were torpedoed quickly by members of his own party. There’s been no serious attempt at reform since.

Given the continued volatility of the issue, there’s no certainty that Mr. Obama’s desire to revamp immigration policies will fare any better than earlier efforts, even with his party in control of Congress. Much of the opposition comes from conservatives of both parties who view any immigration reform effort as an amnesty for immigrants illegally residing in the United States. That’s a nice mantra that might win votes in some circles, but its premise is false.

The Obama approach to reform addresses the amnesty claim and other pressing issues forthrightly. The administration continues to work to meet goals established by Congress two years ago as a precondition to any consideration of reform. That includes construction of 600 miles of border fencing, a doubling of Border Patrol Agents and stepped up enforcement. Those steps have produced positive results — a measurable decline in the flow of undocumented persons. That should satisfy conservative’s concerns.

Those conservatives should now honor the promise to take up immigration reform once the mandates were met. A well-crafted and workable plan awaits their consideration.

The administration, according to Secretary Napolitano, wants to strengthen laws to punish illegal immigrants and the businesses that hire them. It wants to establish policies to promote legal immigration, and tough standards for the about 12 million undocumented immigrants now living here to make their status legal. Those are admirable goals, and essential elements to real immigration reform.

The benefits of such proposals are self-evident. Tighter border controls and clearly defined rules that encourage legal immigration should help end the flow of undocumented immigrants. Strict regulation of employers should reduce the number of businesses which hope to magnify profits by hiring illegal workers at low wages that destabilize the labor market. A rigorous process — including criminal background checks, payment of any back taxes and assessment of reasonable fees — that would allow those here illegally to become citizens over time creates a system with clear choices.

Those who agree to fulfill the requirements for legalization would begin the process of citizenship, and be allowed to remain in the country. They should be welcomed, just as millions of earlier immigrants seeking sanctuary here have been for decades. Those who choose otherwise can hardly complain about the consequences.

The administration is right to put meaningful immigration reform on its agenda next year. Achieving comprehensive change in a hidebound system that continues to undermine the nation’s economy and its security won’t come quickly or easily, but the effort must be made.