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Ive been reporting on, and criticizing, illegal immigration for more than a decade, and things are worse now -- for everyone -- than when I started.

Why it is worse can be expressed in two phrases:

Donald Trump and illegal entitlement.

The president is a blunderbuss, but he represents Americans who are up toherewith undocumented people claiming rights that dont exist.

The enforce the damn law guidelines from Homeland Security this week shocked those here illegally and their enablers. This might be a good time for them to sue for peace.

Its also a good time for the media to stop muddying the water by pretending immigration and illegal immigration are interchangeable. They are no more synonymous than pharmacist and drug dealer. Ones legal, ones not.

When its reported that President Trumps crackdown threatens immigrant communities, thats fear-mongering. Legal immigrants have nothing to fear.

As the Pew Research Center reported this week, 75 percent of Phillys immigrants did the right thing and came here legally.

If those here illegally are fearful, thats self-inflicted. When you choose to break the law, you dont get to play the victim.

Over the years, I have interviewed some of the undocumented, and I sympathize with them on a human level, but I dont condone their law-breaking. Not one of them has ever expressed remorse.

I asked them three questions.

1. Did you come here voluntarily?The answer is yes, except in the cases of minors brought here by a parent. They shouldnt be punished, and thats why I supportDACA--Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protectsthem from deportation. That remains in effect under the new guidelines.

2. Did you know you were coming here illegally?Yes, thats why they sneaked in or overstayed a visa.

3. Did you know there might be consequences if you were caught?Yes, thats why they live in the shadows. Illegal immigrants and their supporters have to stop pretending they did nothing wrong and stop demanding immunity from laws they knowingly violated. No one has a right to be here without permission.

Then where do we go?

We donotoffer amnesty, because we did that in 1986 when we had three million of the undocumented. Now we have 12 million. If we do the same thing again, we will get the same result.

In 2015, Pew Research reported that 70 percent of Americans want the good people to remain here, but they oppose a free pass. They want mercyandjustice.

I have a five-point plan that offers both, gives each side a win:

1. Seal our southern border with a barrier that can be a physical wall where necessary, but can include fencing, Border Patrol agents, cameras, motion detectors, drones,Komododragons if necessary.

2. Since jobs are a magnet, lock up employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. SendCEOsto jail for a year and those jobs will dry up like peas in a rotisserie.

3. Implement a statute of limitations for those here at least five years who have a clean record. Thats almost 90 percent of those here illegally. In many states, after a certain number of years you cant be prosecuted for crimes such as arson, counterfeiting, fraud, even some sexual offenses. Id add illegal entry to the list.

4. Allow people protected by statute to come forward, be documented, and become legal residents. They pay whatever fines, taxes, and penalties owed. They submit to fingerprinting andbiometricsto establish their identity.

5. Bar those who become legal residents from applying for citizenship, as punishment for breaking our laws. Minor children they brought to this country with them would be eligible for citizenship, and children born here, of course, are citizens.

This is not amnesty. It has penalties, but keeps families together while disrupting the avenues for illegal immigration.

Just and merciful.

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Byko: A five-point plan to solve illegal immigration - Philly.com