Secure the border
The honest solution is not “open borders” or “deport everyone.” Both are slogans, not systems.
The real solution:
Secure the border first, because law has to mean something.
End illegal labor by punishing employers more than workers. Mandatory E-Verify, real audits, felony-level penalties for repeat corporate offenders, and no more “oops, the subcontractor did it.”
Stop pretending America needs unlimited low-wage labor. Raise wages, reduce welfare traps, push able-bodied citizens back toward work, and stop using immigration to avoid fixing domestic dysfunction. Prime-age labor participation was 83.9% in May 2026, so many are working, but that still leaves millions outside the labor force.
Separate categories. A child, an asylum seeker, a farm worker, a violent criminal, and a person who overstayed a visa 20 years ago are not the same case. Treating them all the same is stupid policy.
Deport violent criminals and recent illegal entrants quickly. No theater. No years of hearings. If someone entered illegally last month and has no valid claim, removal should be fast.
For long-term illegal residents with no serious criminal record: fines, back taxes, background checks, English/civics requirements, and legal status below citizenship. Not amnesty. Not pretending nothing happened. But also not pretending you can realistically remove millions of settled people without tearing the country apart.
Fix asylum. Real asylum should be protected. Fake asylum should be rejected fast. Claims should be heard near the border within weeks or months, not years.
Make legal immigration honest. If America needs seasonal workers, elder-care workers, farm workers, engineers, doctors, or construction labor, create lawful channels and cap them openly. Do not run a shadow labor economy and then act morally superior.
For public resources: citizens first, lawful residents second, illegal entrants last except emergency care, child protection, and basic due process. Schools are the hard case because the Supreme Court has said states cannot deny K-12 education to undocumented children, but that means Washington should reimburse local districts instead of dumping the cost on towns.
The brutal summary:
America needs borders, deportations, employer punishment, legal work visas, welfare reform, and a citizen-first safety net.
Anything else is just one side selling cheap labor and the other side selling cheap virtue.