RE: imagine if Mexicans and Central Americans get a clear path “go here and apply for seasonal work.
We used to have a program like what you just described when Eisenhower was President. It was called the BRACERO PROGRAM.
What ever happened to that? It was quite successful then.
I didn’t know about the Bracero program - but see it has an entry on wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracero_Program#Aftermath
https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=10
The Department of Labor continued to try to get more pro-worker regulations passed, however the only one that was written into law was the one guaranteeing U.S. workers the same benefits as the braceros, which was signed in 1961 by President Kennedy as an extension of Public Law 78. After signing, Kennedy said, “I am aware ... of the serious impact in Mexico if many thousands of workers employed in this country were summarily deprived of this much-needed employment.” Thereupon, bracero employment plummeted; going from 437,000 workers in 1959 to 186,000 in 1963.[9]
During a 1963 debate over extension, the House of Representatives rejected an extension of the program. However, the Senate approved an extension that required U.S. workers to receive the same non-wage benefits as braceros. The House responded with a final one-year extension of the program without the non-wage benefits, and the Bracero Program saw its demise in 1964.