Sometimes in life, when we’re stuck in a truly messy situation (even a self-created one), we have to go back to square one and rethink the whole problem.

I believe that’s exactly where we are with the illegal immigration nightmare. Fixing it goes far beyond building a wall or even changing presidents; we must begin thinking clearly and acting together to deal with it.

Here’s my take on the simple realities of illegal immigration:

1.) There is no more precious gift than American citizenship. It’s priceless, and nothing remotely like it is available anywhere else in today’s world. We don’t give it away. And we surely don’t allow anyone who wants it to just waltz in and take it.

2.) Effective control of our 2,000-mile southern border is impossible without physical barriers, electronic surveillance, manned points of entry, and adequate security forces. Unauthorized (illegal) entry has been going on for some time and will continue unabated until we regain full control of that border.

3.) We must know who is living in our country, and we must know which ones are not U.S. citizens. We now have in our midst millions of unknown new residents from places far and wide in a dangerous world. No doubt, many are basically good people, but just as surely, there are some who pose a significant threat to U.S. safety and security. We must act accordingly.

4.) The noncitizens among us are our guests. Guests do not vote. We are a hospitable lot, and we treat our guests well — but even the invited ones don’t get to decide what’s for dinner. All guests, invited or not, must follow our laws; failing to do so, they should be prosecuted and/or deported.

5.) Along with the principle that guests don’t get to vote, let’s change our current practice of apportioning congressional representation based on state-by-state population. By definition, our elected representatives should represent the people who elected them (U.S. citizens), not others who happen to reside in their states.

6.) We allow our country to be a safe haven for those legitimately seeking asylum from religious or political persecution — but we must do so only in a strictly controlled way, fairly and promptly adjudicated. Our current asylum regulations and processes are untenably burdensome. The system requires revamping on an urgent basis.

7.) U.S. policy, law, and regulations regarding immigration are not optional. We cannot allow states or cities that declare themselves “sanctuaries” or U.S. tax-protected non-governmental organizations that actively encourage and support illegal migration to actively undermine national safety and security measures. At a minimum, entities that do so should be denied all federal tax or other financial benefits. Even better, Congress should act to prohibit such actions.

8.) Historically, enemies of our nation were primarily hostile nations. No more. Terrorist organizations like ISIS and Hamas, as well as international criminal enterprises such as Mexican drug cartels, pose a growing threat to U.S. security. Our government must adopt policies that enable U.S. security armed forces to counter and disable them, with proper authorization, even on foreign lands.

9.) And it goes without saying that anything we do to throttle back on illegal immigration is wheel-spinning without companion steps to update and streamline our legal immigration policies and practices.

That leaves us with the remaining huge political and practical long-term policy issue: how to deal with the 10 million or more illegal migrants already here, along with those who will continue to arrive until we are able to fully seal our borders. In my view, our action must take into account our nation’s complicity in their presence. No, we did not actually invite them in, but for the past three years we left the door open and the lights on, and we demonstrated day in and day out that not only would we allow them to enter, but we would even help them to settle here.

While we should not allow that very flawed policy to reward illegal entry, I think that a balanced resolution could include the following elements:

• Mandated self-identification and registration within a reasonable, well-communicated time frame (months, not years). All who register within the established time frame and who are not otherwise unacceptable (e.g., with no record of serious criminal offenses) would be permitted to stay for an indefinite period. Others, when found, would be deported.

• Issuance of suitable ID and work authorization, perhaps a green card variant, and access to U.S. benefits. They would be responsible for paying taxes, for reimbursement over time of taxpayer funds made available to them upon entry, and for compliance with all U.S. laws.

• Those who satisfy those constraints for an extended period (10 years at least) would be eligible for a path to U.S. citizenship. Prior to that time, they would have no voting authorization at any level.

As contentious as such an approach would surely be, I don’t see a viable alternative. Neither presidential candidate has proposed even a remotely coherent plan to deal with the problem. Both seem focused primarily on whom to blame. Joe Biden has been blissfully casual about the entire situation for three years and was stirred to action only by gruesomely bad election season polling. Donald Trump has been on it from day one and now promises the most massive deportation program in history. That won’t ever fly, nor should it.

What is most critical right now is national unanimity about the nature, the dimensions, and the gravity of our illegal immigration problem. For once, can we transcend partisanship?

(Updated)