''Immigration reform is vitally needed, but we have to have comprehensive immigration reform, which includes a guest work program and also includes some form of addressing somewhere between 8 [million] and 13 million - according to estimates - people who are here in this country illegally,'' McCain told The Associated Press.

The opportunity to consider comprehensive legislation could come in early 2005 when legislation is considered that would prohibit states from giving driver licenses to illegal immigrants, the Arizona Republican said. Utah is one of a few states that lets illegal immigrants have driver licenses.

Some House Republicans balked at having Congress approve the intelligence bill because it didn't prohibit states from giving driver licenses to illegal immigrants.

That opposition was lessened when House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., promised consideration of the license prohibition in early 2005.

''That will bring up the issue again and I think then we could make an argument that we need to look at all the other aspects of illegal immigration as well as just simply the issue of a driver's license,'' he said.

Saying that border enforcement is essential but not enough, McCain wants authorization of a guest-worker program to address what he called a root cause of illegal immigration.

''As long as there is a demand there will be a supply and as long as long there are jobs that Americans won't do, there will be a supply of workers who will come from someplace else to do them,'' McCain said.

President Bush has proposed letting immigrants get renewable three-year labor visas to work in jobs that aren't filled by American workers. His plan wouldn't provide automatic citizenship for workers.

Even though immigrants provide the American economy with cheap labor, border-state taxpayers shoulder health care, education and criminal justice costs for illegal workers and their families.