maybe it has to do with the numbers. the immigration control probably only allows a certain number of immigrants per year - so the waiting period (for that and paperwork, is probably years).
for the people who are ALREADY here - i say - give them a break. i'd give a few days to a week to work for free for a site that is set up to help them immigrate legally (start the process). suppose they need to be fingerprinted, names given (which could be a potential problem without paperwork), hometown, reason for immigration (check crime reports of their own country?), where they plan to reside (should be a place to house new immigrants if they haven't relatives or friends) whether temporary or permanent housing, and what their goals are for their future here. if we have an address (even if it is a temporary housing location with common mailbox) we can hopefully find them in the future. paperwork going back and forth would be really messed up if they didn't have a p. o. box or local address. as soon as the citizenship is worked out - they would also need to obtain driving permits and licenses. there is no doubt this is a huge undertaking - but would be POSSIBLE without taxpayer pains - if whoever wanted to serve the process would spend a day to a week donating their time to get it done. i find this much more attractive than illegal immigrants having to always hide the fact they are here. there is nothing to hide if you are a hard worker and are willing to be located, pay taxes, and have nothing to do with crime or terrorism.
usually birth certificates are a problem, too, with poorer countries. they would need to probably state their place of birth, date of birth, location of birth, and all - and would need to be honest about that. we would have to rely on a lot of honesty if the country that they are coming from doesn't provide the documents. perhaps having 2-3 people verify for someone who is obviously over 18. i think we should be tougher on adults who come because some have documents, but not all - some are young kids and need a break. especially if they are here without parents. usually by the time one is an adult, they've taken into consideration a possible need for birth certificate, picture id, legal documentation of any kind. guess that immigration has this pretty well figured out after all these years. and, how many people our country can sustain at one time without going over the edge.
the government will probably work some people out favorably, but the majority may be disappointed if it takes longer than they want. but, for us who have lived here a long time, we are used to the way the government works. it probably takes longer in other countries to become citizens than here - so we're not the worst. also, we have to consider the security of our nation. without documentation we are really guessing. so it's a kind of computer solveable thing. if it were up to me, i'd just check the criminal records by fingerprinting, which is shown to be 99 percent unique to each person - but i don't know if it is regularly done in mexico or other countries. once they are checked against a criminal background - then perhaps it is safe to take their word for birth certificate, country of origin, age, etc. it sounds harsh to first check that, but once they are fingerprinted and have an address to write down - that should solve the problem as to where to send paperwork. we would need translators for some people to fill out paperwork, and also sites set up to teach english for a few years.
i am positive about these steps and would gladly teach english for free to anyone who wanted to learn. the advantages of treating people well are that they are excellent workers already - and have motivation to excel. why not give them more motivation to 'mainstream' into society instead of remain on the fringes because of legal problems. if they prove to be honest - it shouldn't take that long for the ones here ALREADY to become citizens. for the ones who haven't yet crossed- i think their time is up and will have to enter legally.
Topic: so how bad was it?