The immigration bill before the senate is rightly viewed as "amnesty", because it removes the sanction of deportation and thereafter provides most illegal aliens with legal status while imposeing no more then a small fine for this precious benefit. The aliens thus experience no legal "punishment" in the true sense of this word. Additionally, many republicans remember the promises of 1986 and do not have confidence that the various enforcement provisions of the law are strong enough or that sufficient appropriations will be provided to fully fund these provisions over the long haul.

My suggestion to correct these two problems involves a plea bargain. To get legal status, Illegal aliens would appear in court, and under oath would explain how they came to america and how they have lived since that time. They will freely confess that they have broken various immigration laws, and acknowledge that their violations subject them to deportation and explain any mitigating circumstances that entitle them to clemency. They would then swear that they have committed no other criminal acts and beg the court for mercy and a lesser sentence.  If the  judge finds their testimony to be credible, he will then offer them a bargain: Clemency for their violations in exchange for pleading guilty to a single pro-forma charge of "illegal presence". They will then serve a ten year term of provisional legal status,  pay a small fine of $2000, and forfeit any possibility of getting SS benefits for the remainder of their lives. After ten years they will be eligible to get into the line for a green card and citizenship by the usual process.

Finally, the SS taxes collected from persons that accept this bargain, will be placed in a special "immigration enforcement trust fund". The amount should be in excess of $7 billion per annum. These funds will be used to pay for enforcement measures to insure that the experience of 1986 is not repeated.