We believe America’s immigration policy should further five core principles: justice, sustainability, fairness, legality, and a focus on furthering the national interest.

By justice we mean evenhanded and equitable treatment for all those involved. This means immigrants and would-be immigrants, who deserve to be treated humanely and with respect. It also includes American workers, who can reasonably demand that their government enact policies in their economic interest. And crucially, it includes future generations of Americans, who deserve to inherit a society with at least as much opportunity, stability and ecological health as we have inherited from our forebears.

By sustainability we mean conserving sufficient natural resources for future human generations to live good lives, and not forcing them to live on polluted, degraded, overcrowded, or otherwise diminished landscapes. Ecological sustainability thus conceived is no mere amenity, but essential for human health, safety and security. Sustainability also means preserving flourishing populations of all of America’s remaining native species, along with opportunities for our children and grandchildren to experience and appreciate them.

By fairness we mean economic fairness: a more equitable distribution of income, wealth and opportunities. Current levels of economic inequality, which have been growing now for five decades in the United States, are unacceptable. It is past time to reverse this trend that is undermining both our democracy and the well-being of our citizens. Particular attention should be paid to the economic status of low-income Americans, who have garnered little of the fruits of economic growth in recent decades, and young people entering the job market for the first time, who suffer disproportionately from unemployment and economic insecurity.

By legality, we mean a commitment to the enforcement of labor and immigration laws. Creating a fair and equitable immigration system is not possible without a willingness to set and enforce rules regarding who is allowed to immigrate into the U.S. and who is allowed to join the labor force. The past four decades of lax enforcement and repeated amnesties have demonstrated that making immigration policy without such a commitment is an exercise in futility. As the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform (i.e., the Jordan Commission) noted, a credible immigration policy depends on enforcing immigration laws. [1]

By furthering the national interest, we mean that immigration policy needs to be made with the interests of all Americans in mind—particularly those with less wealth or power, who tend to get overlooked. Not just the wealthy few or the big corporations, who have had great success driving down wages and lowering incomes for American workers in recent decades, and who do not need any more help in this endeavor from politicians.

The right immigration policies for the United States in the 21st century will foster ecological sustainability, economic fairness, and a culture of legality. They will promote justice for all and further the common good. Done right, “comprehensive immigration reform” can rejuvenate our democracy, and further social and political progress both at home and abroad.