In the oversized heap of Biden-era legacy issues, none is more problematic to the nation — or more challenging to Joe Biden’s successor — than the catastrophe of four years of an intentionally open southern border. The many millions of unvetted immigrants from all over the world now illegally residing here pose a substantial financial and social burden on our country and a clear threat to public safety and national security.

From the start, Donald Trump’s job in dealing with the illegal immigration crisis has been twofold: first to stop the flood, and then to deal somehow with the residual threat posed by illegals who’d made it in the door.

Trump’s stunning success in sealing the border in his first month in office (Biden had disingenuously argued that it couldn’t be done without congressional legislation) took many by surprise and gave him instant credibility on the border security issue. He also got off to a jackrabbit start on Part 2, tasking Border Czar Tom Homan with finding and deporting illegal aliens on a “worst first” basis, an approach that garnered strong public support.

But since then, Trump’s intensive deportation campaign has turned into a contentious slog. After initially targeting known bad actors, Homan seems to have shifted ICE toward snaring as many illegals as possible, regardless of their criminal background or activity. Data sources are inconsistent, but there seems to be general agreement that the majority of individuals deported so far have no history of violent criminal behavior.

Homan is a pit bull, fearless and dedicated — exactly what ICE needs to succeed in its thankless task. But Democrats, ever on the lookout for a flaw to exploit, have leapt with ferocity on ICE’s heavy-handed tactics. Protests by opponents of mass deportation have been organized and violent — this time, few are pretending that these protests are “mainly peaceful.” ICE agents have been attacked in planned ambushes and are met with rock- and bottle-throwing vandals at every turn. Ten people have been indicted for attempted murder in a failed plot to lure and assassinate ICE agents; a policeman and one agent have been shot, and numerous others injured. Wild melees are commonplace.

On the other side, Democrat leadership loudly castigates ICE actions, while remaining notably silent about the anti-ICE violence, in effect condoning it. Most mainstream media are in the protesters’ camp as well, cheering on the home team and lazily invoking the tired old Hitler, Gestapo, and dictator narratives.

And there are indicators that the ICE opponents are gaining traction with the public at large. Steadily increasing numbers of poll respondents express support for the “immigrants” and disapproval of ICE and its tactics.

Clearly, an underlying contributor to the current uproar is that the Trump administration’s long-term objective in dealing with the illegal immigration crisis remains unclear. Is it to find and remove the dangerous elements from the illegal immigrant population? Or is it to remove that population entirely?

The president himself has been ambivalent on that point. He’s the author and prime advocate of the “worst first” stratagem, but generally silent about what happens next. He’s been outspoken for years about the hazards of illegal immigration, though recently he’s acknowledged the value of some elements of the illegal population, such as those who can augment our farm labor workforce. His bottom line remains a mystery.

Mass deportation of illegal aliens has both precedent (under Dwight Eisenhower and Barack Obama) and legal foundation. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) establishes unlawful entry into the U.S. as a misdemeanor, punishable by deportation. I do not doubt that our combative president is willing to fight and win this pitched battle, and without question, our nation cannot tolerate the Left’s anarchist behavior. But for many reasons — all becoming more obvious by the day — I believe that mass deportation is the wrong answer in this circumstance.

Primarily, it flunks the fairness test. Like it or not, our government during the Biden administration was complicit in the millions of illegal entries, effectively inviting them in and allowing them to stay. The migrants who came here at substantial personal cost and risk, and with no intent other than to live the American Dream, deserve fair and compassionate treatment. It is the ones who came with malicious intent who must be kicked out.

Other factors are compelling as well. Finding and deporting tens of millions of illegal residents is a mammoth task, expensive and impractical. Moreover, it is guaranteed to become a PR nightmare for the administration, with a limitless supply of cases far more sympathetic than the MS-13 “Maryland Dad” to tug at public heartstrings.

The right answer, in my view, is well-defined selective deportation along with conditional U.S. residency for nonviolent Biden-era illegals who wish to stay. It could work along lines as follows:

• Mandatory registration — a three-month opportunity to self-identify and register with immigration authorities. Failing to do so, when discovered, triggers deportation.
• One-strike policy — criminal conviction at any point triggers deportation.
• No citizenship possibility for 10 years from the date of registration — after that, we’ll see.
• Full compliance with U.S. rules, regulations, and tax payment, with corresponding full access to U.S. benefits.
• In parallel, the U.S. would continue to support self-deportation with benefits (travel plus $1,000), in addition to preferred position for future legal entry.

I believe that all of the above can be accomplished by executive order within the bounds of current law. And I’m confident that our president can make a clear and broadly accepted case to his supporters and the American public that it’s the way to go.

It’s time to close this ugly chapter and move ahead. Our president’s opponents will never be satisfied with any path he chooses. Still, his responsibility — and the moral high ground — is to rigorously protect our national security and simultaneously treat with compassion those who came to this country with good intent.