A Framework to Recovery

Since the purge of “illegals” (I prefer undocumented citizens) has begun I have often wondered how it will end.
  
The question(s) that come to mind when I think about this deportation program happen to be:

1. When the President leave’s office, will this action continue?
2. When the funding for this program runs out in 3 years or so, will Congress refund the deportation action?  Currently, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act appropriated 170 billion dollars for over four years for enhanced enforcement, targeting large-scale removals.  That equates to roughly 42.5 BILLION a year for four years.
3. What happens if the mid-term elections produce the Democratic party assuming control of either the House or Senate, or both chambers?
4. Can the United States survive 22.5 years of political and civil unrest regarding undocumented citizens and the deportation action?
5. Will the civil unrest cause the President to declare “martial law” and cancel the mid-term elections, thereby allowing his policy to remain in effect until the civil unrest abates and martial law is rescinded.
6. At that point, would elections then be reinstated?
7. Is all of this unrest a ploy to turn the United States into an authoritarian government and do away with the Constitution?
8. Why hasn’t Congress offered a suitable path forward…something that every President since Clinton has indicated was sorely needed. 
9. Is there a proactive avenue forward instead of the reactive avenue being taken?

 
With all of those questions looming and no answers being given, it requires one to speculate as to why? It appears Congress isn’t going to perform its Constitutional duty and produce a reasonable solution to this “illegal immigration” problem.  Congress seems content to allow the executive branch of the government to proceed with this deportation action that has created much civil unrest, death and injury, all in the name of removing the most dangerous and violent illegal citizens from the United States, all in the name of America First.

If Congress isn’t going to be part of the solution, then it is incumbent the citizens of the United States suggest possible solutions to this very emotional problem.  With that, I would like to propose this “framework” for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented citizens.  I believe it to be a bit of a compromise for both parties and will dial down the temperature of civil unrest in our nation.  One must have an open mind and be receptive to such possible solutions.
 
First and foremost, close both the northern and southern borders until the proposal is active.  By that time, hopefully Congress who is charged with the implementation of naturalized citizenship and immigration will develop some meaningful legislation, or just modify this proposed framework.
 
Second, develop a pathway for undocumented citizens to become citizens of the United States.  It is unreasonable for the nation to suffer civil unrest for an extended period of time to fulfill the dreams of a President and broken system of immigration. 
 
The framework for the pathway to citizenship would include:

1.  Make the immigration process free for those who are in this country.  The core government fee for U.S. naturalization (Form N-400) is around $710 to $760, with a $50 discount for filing online, though some can pay a reduced fee of $380 or get a full waiver if they qualify based on income or military service. The total cost can range from $800 to over $4,000 when including optional expenses like attorney fees (potentially thousands), document translations, travel, and passport fees, depending on individual needs. Those listed costs are for one (1) person.  A family of four could pay up to $16000 dollars to go through the process.  Those who come to this country “illegally” and take on low paying employment are generally are not in a position to pay that sum of money.
   
How do we know that?  It is a well-known fact those undocumented citizens take jobs that pay low wages.  Why?  Because, no matter what the low wage is to be, the US dollar is more powerful in purchasing power than the monetary system of the undocumented citizen’s country of origin.  Putting food on the table, paying rent, and the everyday expenses of utilities, clothing, take up most funds from those low paying jobs.  If that is the case, why would a family bother to enter into a pathway for citizenship that would cost thousands of dollars, when that money could be used for living expenses?  It is a matter of survival.

2.  For undocumented citizens to participate in this process, they must register with immigration services with the guarantee, those undocumented citizens who do not have any convictions from their country of origin will not be deported.  Those who do have a conviction for drugs, theft, violence (including murder), from their country of origin will be extradited (if necessary) or deported back to their country of origin without due process. 
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In the event one member of a family falls into this category, the family will be required to decide to accompany the criminal back to their country of origin or stay in the United States.  This country is not a country that believes in the “corruption of blood” doctrine; those involved in a situation as suggested should have the opportunity to decide how the family wishes to move forward.
 
In the event there are undocumented children involved, those children would register to become citizens on their 18th birthday for the immigration program, similar to the Selective Service Draft registration.

3. Those undocumented citizens who choose to apply for citizenship through this program will have to prove of living in the United States for a minimum of 4 years.  Rental receipts, utility receipts, paycheck stubs, banking records and any other form of documentation that can prove the undocumented citizen has been in the United States prior to the enactment of this program should be accepted.  Should the undocumented citizen fail to register with DHS at the appropriate time, deportation will occur.  

In the event undocumented citizens have lived in the United States for less than 4 years, applications for work or student visas would be permitted with the caveat, registration for citizenship with the Department of Homeland Security be made when the 4-year residency requirement is met.  Should the undocumented citizen fail to register with DHS at the appropriate time, deportation will occur.

4.  The undocumented citizen must pass a written examination regarding the history of the United States, the structure of the government, its officials and their duties, and the Constitution of the United States in order to gain citizenship to the United States.  Written material for this examination will be provided by Naturalization Services once the applicant has been properly vetted and application for citizenship has been accepted.  Upon receiving the written material for the naturalization examination, the applicant will have 365 days to successfully pass the written test.  Failure to successfully pass this test will result in the expiration of the application for citizenship and the undocumented citizen will be deported.  The applicant may take the written examination as many times it takes to be successful.   

5.  The undocumented citizen must sign a loyalty statement to the United States.  As President Theodore Roosevelt said, “We have room for but one flag, the American flag….”.  This is a must.  This action is not demanding the applicant forego the traditions and culture of their country of origin.  Our nation is a “bowl of vegetable soup”, of many different cultures brought to this country through immigration.  While it would be permissible to fly the flag of the country of origin at the domicile of the applicant, under no circumstances will the flag of the United States be subservient to another flag, and the successful applicant must agree to loyalty to the United States.
 
While some may question the thought of making the immigration process “free” for those undocumented citizens now living in the United States, let me provide some numbers that may change one’s mind.
 
At the end of 2025, Homeland Security's deportation initiatives involved significant funding, with an estimated 170 billion dollars allocated via the “One Big Beautiful Act” for border and interior enforcement, including billions for ICE operations and detention.  The 170 billion was to be spread out over 4 years, amounting to about 42.5 billion a year.  (The January 2026 proposal to keep the government from shutting down at the end of January includes an additional 10 billion for ICE immigration operations.)
 
A report by the American Immigration Council estimated that a large-scale operation aimed at deporting one million people per year could cost $88 billion annually.  If this is correct, the allocation in the One Big Beautiful Act will produce a deficit of approximately 46 billion dollars a year for the federal government for the deportation action now being taken.

As of 2023, the estimated number of undocumented immigrants in the United States reached a record high of approximately 14 million, according to Pew Research Center data.  Other organizations, such as the Migration Policy Institute, estimated 13.7 million for the same period. This population, representing about 4.1% of the total U.S. population, grew by 3 million since 2019.
 
The New York Times on January 17, 2026, reported some 622,000 have been deported since Trump took office in late January of 2025.  I can’t disagree with his thoughts about ridding this country of violent criminals who have entered our country without proper documentation. To me it makes perfect sense, the United States is not a dumping ground for violent, undocumented criminals. 
 
However, if the current policy stays in effect, at the rate of deportation as it now stands, it will take approximately 22.5 years to complete the deportation of those the Trump administration deem “undesirable”.  22.5 years…let that sink in. 
 
Using the 42.5 billion dollars allocated in the One Big Beautiful Act as a baseline number for Department of Homeland Security deportation efforts, the total sum for deportation of undocumented citizens over 22.5 years would be approximately 956.25 billion dollars.  With our country now having a national deficit of approximately 39.5 trillion dollars, does it make sense to spend almost another trillion dollars the country does not have, to pursue deportation of undocumented citizens?  And who bears the hardship of paying for this policy…no one but the taxpayer.  I’m not in favor of spending that type of money when a more cost-efficient method would benefit the nation and the taxpayer.
 
I am not opposed to deporting criminal undocumented citizens who have come to the United States to live in the shadow of freedom and escape the judicial system of their country of origin.  The United States should not take on the problems of other countries.  But, guaranteeing those undocumented citizens a pathway to citizenship without prosecution or persecution by the federal government may be the only way to quiet the civil unrest we now see in our country.  From personal experience, I know undocumented citizens have a great deal of reluctance to come forward and provide information regarding living arrangements, physical addresses, phone numbers, believing that information would be turned over to Homeland Security.  Therefore, an absolute guarantee there will be no prosecution or persecution for those who voluntarily come forward to enter the pathway to citizenship program is a must.
 
This administration has said they will deport only the most dangerous and violent undocumented citizens first, but that is not true.  How is the federal government identifying whom are “illegal aliens” and who are violent and dangerous?  Many American citizens have been detained by ICE simply because they are not white.  Oglala Sioux tribal members, Navajo tribal members, a retired Coast Guard veteran, Hispanics who are American citizens have all been detained by ICE.  
 
I would like to believe if undocumented citizens came forward to enter into the pathway for citizenship, by the process of elimination, it would be that much easier to identify the most violent and dangerous criminals who have entered our country illegally and prevent the questionable behavior of the DHS officers who are attempting to detain undocumented citizens.
 
I also believe if Congress would implement some reform to the immigration process, the temperature in the streets, the civil unrest would subside considerably…otherwise it is possible more and more events like what has taken place in Minneapolis may very well take place in other parts of our country…which could be interpreted by the current administration as “domestic terrorism” or a civil war, in which the Insurrection Act would be instituted by the President (he has already said he is poised to invoke this Act) which would certainly result in martial law and quite possibly the suspension of the mid-term elections and elections to come.
 
Since Clinton’s administration, illegal immigration has been a concern of each presidential administration, yet, for some unknown reason, Congress has just “kicked the can” down the road. It is imperative Congress take up this problem and forge a reasonable solution.  Because if there isn’t a plan going forward, there are no answers to questions number 1, number 2, and number 3.

Someone in the room needs to act like an elected official and start to solve this immigration problem and mend the giant divide in our country.