We've consistently maintained on this page that the first step toward effective immigration reform has to be securing our southern border. But we'd like a lot more of a defined and fiscally prudent approach to meeting that goal than what the federal government has so far demonstrated.

Only last week, the federal government announced it is scrapping a $20 million prototype of a "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border because the system is failing to adequately alert border patrol agents to illegal crossings.

That's 20 as in millions and it's casually tossed aside with, "Oops, that didn't work"!

According to The Associated Press, the scuttling comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by the Boeing Co. It consists of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson.

Boeing is to replace the so-called Project 28 prototype with a series of towers equipped with communications systems, new cameras and new radar capability.

Fences might be a good public relations ploy, but by themselves are not enough. Besides, as of March 31, we're not even halfway there with fences. Homeland Security reported that 171.l miles of pedestrian fence and l42.4 miles of vehicle fence are in place. The goal is 670 miles by the end of the year.

We'll hold off -- for now -- on the temptation to say that maybe Boeing should stick to building airplanes.

In the final analysis, though, a fence -- virtual or real -- might be good as a cosmetic treatment of immigration reform, but it still pulls up short of adequate, long-range solutions.

Let's have significant changes that can in turn lead to effective reforms.

Secure the borders, yes. But that must dovetail with movement on both sides of the border to get Mexico's economy on track to take away the lure of jobs to the north. Reform also has to include some type of defined, enforceable two-way guest worker program: Ensuring an adequate labor supply for those who need it in this country, while allowing immigrants to work legally in this country and have a mechanism to return home.

Immigration reform has been talked to death and must move to the head of the priority action list when a new Congress and president take over in January. Obviously, the current Congress and chief executive are incapable of getting the job done after several tries.

But it's going to have to include a whole lot more than fencing people out, especially with "fences" that are virtually worthless -- at $20 million a pop.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.