NEW YORK, Dec 12: The Bush administration is expected to revive a plan to legalize millions of illegal immigrants in the US. The plan had been sidelined following the Sept 11 terror attacks, reported the New York Times.

The plan’s revival was indicated by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, at a meeting in Miami wherein he said “The bottom line is, as a country, we have to come to grips with the presence of eight to 12 million illegals, and afford them some kind of legal status some way.”

Mr Ridge, who heads the Homeland Security department which now controls US immigration policy, said the government might consider legalizing the status of illegal immigrants already in the country on a one-time basis.

The Homeland security officials said that the comments made by Mr Ridge reflected a growing view in the Bush administration that the federal government needed to find a way to register illegal immigrants, if only for reasons of national security.

Before the Sept 11 attacks, the administration had appeared eager to reach agreement with the government of President Vicente Fox in Mexico on a plan to provide legal status to millions of Mexicans living illegally in the US, a proposal advocated largely on economic and humanitarian grounds said the New York Times.

However, the Bush administration shelved the plan following the Sept 11 attacks when the attention of law enforcement and intelligence agencies turned to blocking illegal immigrants from entering the US and finding — and often deporting — those who were here.

A spokesman, for Mr Ridge told the Times, “The secretary acknowledges that we have several million people here illegally, and he understands that for homeland security reasons, at some point in time, there needs to be a better way to identify those who may be a threat to our country.”

Mr Ridge’s comments were welcomed by immigrant-rights groups.