And this is how it should have been all along but you'll never get the democrats to sign on to common sense. That's not how they roll.

Simply not true. The majority of dems would welcome such a system. Probably a large number of reps, too (though maybe not a majority).

It's the reps that are the problem. As albaby said earlier, there are some immigration hawks that don't want anybody coming in. They are, and have been, the roadblock for decades. Different people at various times, but the same attitude. As your link exposed, the 2017 immigration deal was torpedoed by a handful of hardline restrictionist immigration hawks on the rep side.

You think Stephen Miller would go for a program like Mike outlined? Not a chance in hell. But I would. I suspect almost every poster here would. Apparently even you would. But it will never happen because of Miller, McCarthy, Cotton, and some others. And when they leave, there likely will be a new batch of hardliners who won't go for such a plan. All on the right end of the political spectrum.