Top homeland security officials told Congress Wednesday they still don’t have a way to effectively measure border security — a revelation that lawmakers said could doom the chances for passing an immigration legalization bill this year.

Three years after the Obama administration scrapped the previous yardstick, which measured miles of the border under “operational control,” top Customs and Border Protection officials told Congress the new measure they’re working on won’t be ready for public use any time in the near future.

The revelation stunned lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who said that without a way to measure border security, they may not be able to convince voters to accept a new legalization.

“You do not want the Department of Homeland Security to be the stumbling block to comprehensive immigration reform for this country, and it could happen. So get in the game,” said Rep. Candice S. Miller, chairwoman of the House’s border security subcommittee.

CBP is working on what it calls the Border Control Index, which members of Congress had thought would be the new measure. But Mark Borkowski, who heads CBP’s technology innovation office, said that’s not what they’re planning.

“I don’t believe we intend, at least at this point, the BCI would be a tool for the measure you’re intending,” he said.

Border security is a major sticking point in negotiations over immigration.

In 2007, the last time the Senate debated immigration, the bill failed in part because voters didn’t believe the government was serious enough about gaining control of the border.

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Kinda hard to measure that which doesn't exist.