GOVERNOR Corzine is not trying to solve the immigration issue with his new blue ribbon panel. He can't, since how immigrants get here -- or don't get here -- is a federal responsibility.

He is trying, however, to find ways to help those hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are already here -- both legal and illegal. Corzine wants policies that will integrate them, not marginalize them. The panel has been charged to look at everything: education, citizenship rights, housing, health care, language proficiency, employment and job training.

That's an incendiary idea to those who would rather see a crackdown on illegal immigrants and those who hire them. They want to make it harder for illegal immigrants to stay here, not easier. But the mass deportation of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants is neither practical nor humane.

We believe the governor has the more realistic approach: Given the stalemate in Congress, the numbers of illegal immigrants and the economic demand for their work, it is better to help them become "fully productive and self-sufficient members of society," in the governor's words. He sees that goal as "critical to the future economic and social well-being of the state."

However, there's no denying that problems exist: unsafe housing, overloaded schools and medical services in some communities, employer abuses and crime. And many immigrants facing these challenges are here legally.

The panel intends to hold public hearings, when members will no doubt get an earful. But beyond the vitriol, all reasonable viewpoints must be heard, especially from towns dealing with large numbers of illegal immigrants. Immigration is an extremely complicated issue that requires the panel, as well as local leaders, to be open-minded, pragmatic and compassionate.

It's too bad that the panel has been given 15 months to come up with solutions. It's easy to see this panel as an excuse for inaction, a way to stall for time and hope the problem and the divisions will go away.

Certainly, the quality of the four North Jersey members belies that assumption. They are Monsignor William Reilly of Garfield, who helps immigrants seeking permanent residence; Samer Khalaf of Paramus, who is with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; Ralph Rivera Jr. of Ridgefield Park, a Bergen County undersheriff with experience in community policing; and Michael Wildes, the mayor of Englewood and an immigration attorney.

The head of the 27-member panel is Public Advocate Ronald Chen, another sign that its mission will be taken seriously and its work done thoroughly.

We hope that its work will also be done speedily. Corzine has taken on the most divisive issue facing the nation and the state. A report full of recommendations that sound good but go nowhere would be a failure.