Well let me explain the problem and why the wall is the solution: Yes, we can put effective policies in place, but it won't have as good of a result as the wall. If Democrats get in charge of the country again, removing regulations and changing them back to their favor is less than a week process. Tearing down the wall however would be a huge process.
This is why the Democrats are so hell bent on stopping the wall; because it's not something that they can easily reverse.
I hear you and understand, but do not think the wall is the answer. Before Trump came in, one of the absolute largest problems was student, workers, visitors coming in overstaying their welcome and joining the underground economy and still is, and unless addressed in the way i proposed always will be. Cheap labor is a valuable resource. By supporting these underground employees, possibly collecting benefits while working the underground side or not working at all, the American public is footing the bill to the benefit of employers making money on the cheap labor source, in other words externalizing the true cost of the labor to society at large. Like one of my points about the wall, I am too frugal with my money to support externalized costs of employment, I am not benefiting from.
Look at it this way: The cost of the food stamp program in 2018 was over 65 billion dollars. We spend that every year plus or minus. The cost to build a wall is about 12 billion, and we only spend that once.
In other words, for what we pay for food stamps for less than three months, we could have a wall across strategic sections of our southern border.
In our system of government, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. When it comes to employers busted with illegal immigrants, you have to prove they knew the employees were illegal. Fake ID's and documents are a big business in this country. Even if the employer suspects the documentation if less than authentic, it's good enough to get a not guilty verdict in a court of law.
Fake ID market bypasses anti-fraud measures | TechRadar
Court Rules Illegal Aliens Can Sue over “Discriminatory Employment Policy” Requiring Green Cards - Judicial Watch
So your solution is not as easy as that. It comes with a lot of complications, especially for employers.
What you say, could be very well true, but they haven't tried. When they did convict, fines were low and sentencing, non-existent. They have shut down whole meat processing plants, taking many illegal aliens at once, well know the company used illegal, yet light fines and no jail, certainly not lock up with horny Big Bubba. White collar corporate crime is not punished as Bubba was punished for street crime. A lot of those hard core lifers can take it. Greedy little MBA Business managers cannot handle that environment and I believe it would scare the BeJesus out of the ones that followed.
Perhaps, but it's not a total solution to anything. Like I said, illegals come here for all kinds of reasons. Let me put it to you this way: It's estimated by some we have 11 million people illegally in the country now. Some say the amount is much more closer to 20 or 25 million. Do you think all or most of those people are working in the country illegally?
Here is the stupidity of all this, we have a country with sanctuary cities and states, that allow illegals to drive, allow illegals to go to our schools knowingly, allows illegals to stand in line at a DMV in NYC for hours, and nobody does a thing. Some buy houses, others rent apartments or houses. All is fine in illegal alien land. But place hard fines and jail time for business owners because they hire them? It's ridiculous.
On one hand, you say that making it tough on them to get a job would solve the problem, but on the other hand, we have these Democrats that are trying to make them as comfortable as possible. They welcome these illegals with open arms; embrace them. They even warn them when they learn ICE is going to conduct major busts.