Eden, you may be partially right in your assertion about past immigration, legal immigrants did come here to work at jobs where the companies/farms couldn't find enough American workers. This started when there was essentially low American unemployment and the program has continued to this day, very poorly administered by the government.
When you mix the ILLEGAL immigrants into this discussion a
different situation is the result. The Illegal workers are often abused by the companies under the ever present threat of exposure if they ask for reasonable treatment/wages/living conditions. "We" are abusing these people.
The other part of your comment stated that this had to be part of a "comprehensive" bill, that is the part that I would disagree with.
Now, consider this, we need to enforce/administer the provisions of the existing laws regarding these LEGAL workers when a legitimate need for workers is proven by the individual companies and simultaneously enforce our other immigration laws regarding Illegal "visitors" who come here to stay. We don't really need additional laws to reward these illegal immigrants with amnesty/a jump ahead of the persons who have applied to legally come to this country.
I would solve it this way,
1. Implement/enforce the E-verify system (fine companies who don't comply in the effort to identify the illegal workers.) (If persons contemplating coming here illegally understood that they could not get a job because of E-verify use, this would very significantly cut down on the illegal border crossings, maybe even make the fences much less important).
2. The persons identified by this system, if they are working (which is likely because an employer identified them) then give them a work permit visa, (make them legal so the employer has no unreasonable hold on them and overall wages might come up and the jobs become more attractive to American workers just entering the work force).
3. Then allow them, if they wish, to apply for permanent status by using the existing immigration laws; Thus, to be fair, they would have to get in line with the law abiding persons who chose to apply for citizenship before coming here.
We really don't need additional "comprehensive" laws which punish the law abiding immigrants, will simply encourage new waves of illegal immigration, and do not solve the basic problems of illegal immigration.
"Comprehensive" has simply become a political code word for amnesty for future voters.
1oldgeezer