If the IRCA of 1986 was enforced and employers were punished for violating the law, that one time amnesty deal would have been just that. Instead, by not enforcing the IRCA of 1986 we've had 20 years of liberal immigration policy, from Bush41, to Clinton, to Bush43.
Lots of IF'S in there. That is the trouble. NO president is willing to put troops on the border. It'll take a terrorist hit that is proven to have entered thru POROUS borders.
We had the golden opportunity to seal the borders on 9-12-01. Nobody worth a damn, would have said BOO at that point.