The primary issue, as I see it, first and foremost needing to be solved is illegal entry into the U.S.
Keeping new undocumented aliens from entering is paramount.
That will take additional physical infrastructure at the Border, but that would only be a slowing down deterrent to crossers, any physical improvements at the border will still need an increase in the CBP agency staffing to traverse those physical barriers with live agent patrols.
About 44% of the cases of illegals here, up until recently, were Illegal Stays in the U.S., where folks came in legally, and then lost legal allowance to be here, but have not been removed. Eliminating those issues will again take increase in staffing.
The primary issue at this point in time is a massive failure of Congresses and Presidents (all of them in my lifetime) to keep our Immigration Services fully and adequately staffed.
We have had a dire need for hiring in the CBP, the rate of hiring has not kept pace with the ongoing needs and attrition in the department. President Trump spent $100 million on a supposed aggressive recruiting program that just totally failed. I have not really seen any better acts by the Biden Administration to fix this issue.
We have also a dire situation of staffing shortfalls within the Immigration Courts such that there are insane backlogs for asylum seeker application cases, overstay cases, and the timely processing of newly detained undocumented immigrants.
The solution, IMO, is quite simple.
Ah, simple, via opinion everything is simple.
Federal law should, with no exceptions, clearly and concisely state that entry from any point other than a legal check point is a Federal crime which will result in immediate return to where entry was made from, Mexico in the Southern border case.
Who will enforce this Federal Law as in finding and capturing and adjudicating these alleged illegal entrants?
First though, to make your opinion work one would have to Amend the U.S. Constitution to suspend due process protections.
Checkpoint entry would prioritize those seeking asylum, though they would be given a lengthy wait to seek re-entry if they failed to prove their case for asylum and as a result be deported.
We already have asylum seeker applications and processing and methods for handling those who fail to make their asylum seeking cases be accepted.
What we lack is adequate staffing and courts to handle the numbers of applications being sought for asylum, this is leading to the essential "dumping" of legal aliens into untracked and unrealistic stasis.
LPR would only be gained by those who enter legally.
With or without time and or other limitations and requirements to remain?
The number of migrants seeking LPR daily should not exceed what our government has the ability to process quickly without increasing the burden on taxpayers to grow that number.
That is fine, once we have fixed the insane backlog of those already, here but yet to be adjudicated.
Perhaps the punishment for illegal entry could be made a stiff fine and/or deportation,
There are already some of these in place, deportation for one, and in particular for second or more illegal entry aliens, there are stiffer penalties.
What if the illegal entrant has no money to pay a fine, stiff or not?
Will each illegal be made to pay the stiff fines, all members of an alien family, or even the UAC's?
where those who pay the fine would be given a shorter wait period than those who do not.
Pay to play, the Capitalist way!