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Aldridge Kevin Aldridge(Photo: Kareem Elgazzar)

Opinion Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com.Twitter: @Kevaldrid.

How can two rights make a wrong? The answer is easy when you examine Americas broken immigration system.

Look no further than the deportation case of Fairfield resident Maribel Trujillo-Diaz, an undocumented immigrant and mother of four, for proof. There are those who say Trujillo-Diaz broke the law by entering the country illegally 15 years ago, and she should be sent back to her native Mexico. Meanwhile, others argue the United States government shouldnt be tearing families apart. Compassionate alternatives to deportation should have been explored for a woman, who by all accounts, was an asset to her community.

The truth is both sides are right. We are both a nation of laws and of compassion. But without reforming our immigration system and laws, we will continue to come up with the wrong outcome in cases like Trujillo-Diazs no matter what we do.

When politics and faith conflict, politics must yield

Americans have to start putting more pressure on our elected officials to take meaningful action on immigration reform. Build that wall is a great campaign catchphrase, but it wont stop those thirsting for a better life or fleeing Mexican drug cartels from finding more creative ways across the border. And for fans of mass deportations, good luck rounding up the millions of undocumented immigrants already entrenched in neighborhoods throughout the U.S.

What we need in America today is immigration reform that embraces the reality of the conditions on the ground. Reform that starts with addressing the way things are, not how we wish they were. Some have argued there can be no true reform until current immigration laws are obeyed first. But that stance only doom us to spin on this merry-go-round of dysfunction in perpetuity.

Nothing unfair, unjust or immoral about Trujillo Diaz deportation

America needs a reset.

That reset has to begin with the acknowledgment that everyone wont be happy or satisfied with the end result. Some might even feel cheated. But the reality is theres no good way out of this mess that doesnt harm someone in some way.

The first step should be to bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows by offering amnesty (not citizenship) to anyone who registers with ICE by a government-specified deadline. These immigrants would not be deported so long as they were employed and had no criminal record. ICE could assign them IDs, immigrant registration numbers and work VISAs, all of which would need to be renewed yearly.

These undocumented immigrants would pay a fee (similar to a drivers license) to cover the material and administrative costs. And they would have to report to ICE officials at least once or twice a year and stay employed to maintain their amnesty status. Failure to do so would result in deportation.

This would allow the federal government to keep better tabs on who is in the country, weed out criminals and potentially collect millions in tax dollars from these workers. This new system could also create hundreds of new government jobs paid for through the fees collected annually from these immigrants.

A path to citizenship could even be established for those who work consistently and stay out of trouble. Some might argue this would be unfair to immigrants who try to enter the U.S. legally. To those people, I would say it is no more unfair than what is already happening.

Letters: Trujillo-Diaz is an asset, not a danger to US

To offset those feelings, our government needs to speed up the process for those waiting patiently to enter the U.S. Theres no reason why an immigrant should have to wait a decade or more to enter our country.

Immigrants add to the fabric of our communities. They work hard and are more likely to start businesses, therefore creating rather than taking American jobs.

We can all agree, no one wants the bad hombres in our country. Trujillo-Diaz was not a bad hombre. But flawed U.S. immigration policy does not make a distinction between a bad hombre and a mother who is part of a beloved community.

Thats a shame, and the loss is ours.

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America needs a reset on its immigration policy - Cincinnati.com