re: The problem with illegal immigration explained as if you were 5 years old (or a liberal)

So this thread has gone for four pages and there has been little in the way of talk of solutions outside of turning the border into a rifle range.

There are somewhere between 8-11 million illegal immigrants already in the US for whom border security is a moot point and we are currently experiencing emigration so locking down the border probably isn't close to the best solution. Massive deportation would cost billions and would do little to move the needle on immigration numbers. So what is the answer?

For my money:

1) Give all illegals residing in the US one year to register with INS in exchange for upgrading their status to a Non-Citizen Resident. NCRs will be issued a tax-ID number and given permission to work legally in the country. NCR status will not be given to any person convicted of a felony.

After ten years, if the NCR has not committed any crimes and is fully paid up on taxes, they receive citizenship.

2) At the close of the one year registration period, all federal subsidies, including money allocated for education, will be prohibited from being spent on any person residing in the US illegally. This will be way more effective in detering illegal immigration than any wall and it will actually save money instead of spend it.

3) Make true immigration reforms to decrease the amount of time needed to obtain full citizenship status and recommit the Visa program to attracting highly skilled foreigners to US jobs.