Principles for immigration reform.

The U.S. immigration system is in need of fundamental reform, according to a report by the Center for American Progress.

According to the report's authors, a series of piecemeal initiatives at the local, state and federal levels have sought to fill the vacuum created by the defeat of comprehensive immigration reform earlier this year.

The authors say that creating a modern immigration system is an undoubtedly complex task. It requires achieving the right balance between enforcement, at our borders and at work sites, and establishing mechanisms for bringing the estimated 12 million undocumented to be full, contributing members of our society, and creating the means for regulating the flow of immigrants into the country.

The report, Progressive Growth: Transforming America's Economy through Clean Energy, Innovation, and Opportunity, offers six basic tenets that the authors say must inform the core architecture of immigration reform.

To create a robust, modern immigration system worthy of our country, the report says we must:

* Accept increased labor mobility

* Incorporate robust enforcement and safeguards

* Protect U.S. workers

* Increase and diversify legal immigration

* Resolve the status of the undocumented

* Foster an inclusive American identity

To maximize the possibility of success, these steps must be taken together. Attempting to do one (or even some) and not others will simply perpetuate the dysfunction that currently grips our immigration system, according to the authors.

By the Center for American Progress