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Often lost in the emotional debate over illegal immigration is the fact that there are many highly educated immigrants that the United States wants and needs. Such workers include those in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

The United States needs these immigrants because few U.S.-born students are pursuing careers in technical fields. As a result, American companies that need engineers and scientists struggle to find workers.

In Arizona, for example, nearly 59 percent of engineering master's degrees awarded in 2006 went to foreign-born students. Also, foreigners accounted for 75 percent of engineering doctorates at Arizona's universities that year.

Meanwhile, the United States limits the number of educated workers who are allowed into the country each year. This self-imposed shortage on highly educated foreigners hurts America's competitiveness on the global stage. When U.S. companies cannot find the workers they need, they are stifled. In turn, the U.S. economy is affected.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., last week unveiled a plan to boost the number of H-1B visas — the kind granted to educated foreigners in government-defined "specialty occupations."

Under her bill:

● The annual cap on H-1B visas, which has been at 65,000 since 2004, would be raised to 130,000 in fiscal year 2008. The cap would go as high as 180,000 in future years.

● The number of exemptions for foreign workers with advanced degrees, now capped at 20,000, would be eliminated. Instead, any foreign worker who has an advanced degree from a U.S. university and a job offer with an American company would qualify for an H-1B visa.

● Up to 20,000 foreign workers with non-U.S. advanced degrees would be able to get an H-1B visas if they have a U.S. job offer.

We support Giffords' measure and encourage Congress to support it. However, we also recognize that it will be a tough sell.

One of the reasons a comprehensive immigration reform package failed this summer was that liberals and conservatives in Congress were unwilling to compromise.

Giffords' bill will probably be supported by moderates and conservatives in Congress, but it will have little traction with liberals who will argue that less-educated foreign workers, such as laborers and farmhands, should also have an opportunity to work in America.

While we agree that the United States should create more H-1B visas for engineers and scientists, we also believe Congress should create a guest-worker program to legally allow in more laborers for non-technical industries.

We urge members of Congress to come to a compromise so that all American industries have access to the foreign labor they need to grow and keep the country competitive.