With Congress giving up, alien smugglers involved in running gun battles along major highways in border states, people dying in the desert and an estimated 12 million illegals already in the country, it’s fair to say that our current immigration policy is not working.

An effective policy could be easily implemented, and fair to American workers, U.S. business and the aliens themselves.

We should allow U.S. companies to hire foreign nationals to work in the U.S., but levy an extra 10 percent payroll tax on the employers.

Let’s look at this proposal from the standpoint of the different interest groups.

U.S. WORKERS: They would not lose U.S. jobs to alien workers because Americans would be cheaper to hire than foreigners. If an American wanted to cut fish in a cold warehouse, he could be hired for the going wage of $7. If no Americans wanted the job and the employer had to recruit Guatemalans, they would still earn the going wage of $7, but the employer would have to pay an extra 70 cents an hour in payroll tax.

U.S. BUSINESS: Employers would be able to fill all their jobs. They would have to pay an extra tax for hiring foreigners, but if they really need the foreign workers, they should be willing to pay the modest charge. The tax rate would be low enough that employers would rather work within the law than risk substantial penalties.

ALIEN WORKERS: They would get their wages. They would have legal status. They would have recourse if they were not paid or were treated unfairly. They wouldn’t have to risk their lives with clandestine border crossings.

COYOTE ALIEN SMUGGLERS: Would be out of business.

BORDER STATES: Wouldn’t be plagued by hordes of illegals or violent alien smuggling gangs.

U.S. TREASURY: Would get a lot of money, which could be used to support Medicaid or some other program.

If foreign workers were promised a green card after 10 years of work and a minimum $100,000 in taxable wages, they would have an incentive to make sure all their wages were reported.

The tax rate could be made self-adjusting, increasing one percentage point in any year where the unemployment rate for U.S. workers was above 5%, and decreasing one percentage point in any year when it was below 4%.

To implement the program, illegals within the country should be given a brief opportunity to register. Once this introductory period ended, work permits would only be issued in the country of origin. If this program were vigorously implemented, it could virtually eliminate illegal jobs, and people who couldn’t find lawful work would have to leave.

Bringing the millions of illegal aliens and their employers within the framework of the law would free up tremendous resources to improve homeland security and reduce crime, while at the same time protecting the interests of American workers and eliminating a great deal of unnecessary human suffering.