Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Be Free

My beliefs on immigration are about as liberal as they come. I don't believe we have the right to deny anyone the ability to live in the United States or become an American citizen. However, I recognize the legitimate security case for knowing who is our borders, the importance of ending illegal immigration (even if you believe that the legal immigration system is unjust) and the necessity of responding to the successful conservative frame of the immigration issue as a security issue (even if its largely an economic issue).

So I was excited to come across this paper put out by the Truman National Security Project. It calls for a four-prong policy to secure our immigration system while holding true to pro-immigrant, Democratic values:

1) Strong Border and Interior Enforcement, including better screening at our consulates, better technology, specifically at the border, and a more efficient screening system at workplaces.
2) A Temporary Worker Program that registers immigrants already here, but fines them heavily for being here illegally. New applicants must "pay to play", with an up-front fee that funds the local services (emergency, school, etc.) they may use, to be partially returned upon legal exit.
3) A Path to Citizenship that gives all immigrants the possibility of citizenship if they have paid taxes, learned English, and followed our laws.
4) An Immigrant Integration Program incentivizing businesses and communities to offer English language courses, mentorship programs, and other provisions to build better immigrant- community relations.

I'm slightly uncomfortable with the English/integration provision, which has an obvious practical, humanitarian justification (immigrants need to learn English to really succeed in the US), but, for many conservatives who champion such a provision, has a racist justification. Nonetheless, I think this is a proposal that is strong policy, smart politics and sound in terms of our values.