Immigration reform has been stalemated for so long that it’s difficult to muster much hope that things will ever change.

Pragmatists in the middle never seem to find enough traction to get something done.

But maybe, just maybe, an opportune moment has arrived.

The declaration by the Gov. Janet Napolitano and Gov. Bill Richardson that a state of emergency existed on the U.S. border with Mexico because the federal government was not doing enough to control the situation seems to have galvanized the reform effort.

Although some critics sniffed that the whole thing was a publicity stunt — both Richardson and Napolitano are Democrats — the governors had some persuasive facts on their side.

Near the town of Columbus, N.M., more than 30,000 undocumented immigrants have been captured since October, according to Richardson. The flood of people across the border included violent incidents like the kidnapping of three teenaged girls by masked men, killing of cattle and sniper fire at the local police chief, he said.

In Arizona, more than 510,000 undocumented immigrants have been captured since October. Napolitano said that the flood of people across the border included violent gangs and criminals who threaten the safety of Arizona residents.

The flood of people coming across the border continues to grow. In the 1980s the number sneaking across was estimated at about 140,000. Last year, the Pew Hispanic Center estimated, more than 700,000 unauthorized migrants came to the United States. According to a Pew Center poll, one in four workers in Mexico said they would like to work in the United States.

Like many states with meatpacking plants and other jobs that can be filled by unskilled labor, Nebraska has an important stake in immigration reform. Our state has attracted many immigrants in recent years. Communities like Lexington and Schuyler now have a significant number of Hispanic residents.

Part of the solution is to provide adequate protection at the border between Mexico and the United States. Policy changes that recognize existing reality also are necessary.

The most practical proposals for policy reform include proposals for guest worker visas, as suggested by President Bush, and a path for undocumented workers now in the United States to gain legal status, as proposed in a bill introduced last year by Sen. Chuck Hagel and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who failed to win re-election.

Currently the most viable legislation is a bipartisan bill that includes both those elements sponsored by Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Sen. Edward Kennedy. Hagel plans to reintroduce his own legislation with a Democratic co-sponsor later this year.

Now that governors are declaring that our nation’s borders are in a state of emergency, Congress ought to stop posturing long enough to actually support bipartisan proposals such as these that embody real solutions.