Suddenly, everyone in Washington seems to agree on the need for immigration reform, and they may even agree on most of the details. That’s because nobody has said yet what the exact details are. A “gang of eight” senators has proposed legislation, several House members have proposals, and a leaked White House immigration plan reveals that the president now has very similar designs, so it seems that agreement must be forthcoming.

But only in Washington do leaders first vote for the bill so they can later find out what’s in it. In the current immigration debate, what’s in it matters a great deal. Success or failure depends on the details.

Almost every plan for immigration reform includes enhanced border security, better employment verification, a path to some form of legal status for people already here illegally, and lastly—almost an afterthought—a new guest worker program.

As to a guest worker program … such a program cannot be an afterthought, and it cannot wait for the details to be added later. It ought to be the cornerstone of the entire effort.

A simple work-permit system can solve the problem for future workers and those already here without authorization. Such a program doesn’t need to blur the line between legal worker status and citizenship. Nor does it need to treat different groups differently, as would limited proposals like the DREAM Act, an agricultural jobs bill, or plans to grant green cards only to students with certain college degrees or those who serve in the military. Strong arguments can be made for all those approaches, but none of them solves more than a fraction of the problem, and they’re all contrary to the basic American principle of equal treatment under law. Rather, any successful program must guarantee three essential elements—opportunity, protection and fairness—for employers, for new workers coming in, for those already here illegally, and for Americans worried about border security.

Opportunity, protection, and fairness are in the eye of the beholder. That’s why so much discussion centers on a market-driven plan called the Red Card Guest Worker Permit—a quick and simple process whereby private employment firms would be authorized to set up offices anywhere in the world, run criminal background checks on prospective workers, and issue guest worker permits to specific workers for specific jobs. These firms would utilize the most modern technology, always readily employed first in the private sector, but often coming to government bureaucracies ever so slowly.

Private employment firms operate databases on which employers post available jobs and workers post qualifications, each paying their own fees for the service, which offers an already-understood process for matching foreign workers with American employers who need them. This proposal would simply allow these companies to do what they do best: match workers and jobs, and issue guest worker permits with smart-card technology that allows tracking, changing, upgrading, renewing, or cancelling as needed. That provides answers for people on both sides of the politics.

For conservatives, that means opportunity: for businesses to get the workers they need, for workers to find legal jobs and earn good money, for the economy to grow and prosper. It means protection: from mass amnesty and from a porous border. And it means fairness: in keeping families together and treating all equally—no special deals are needed for special groups. In fact, under this plan, there would be no further need for the alphabet-soup of complex visa classifications that add to the bureaucratic nightmare currently faced by employers and employees alike.

For liberals, the same program means opportunity: by giving workers upward mobility, portability, and renewal as long as they stay employed and productive. If they wish, they can apply for citizenship while working legally, a completely separate process. It means protection: against abusive employers, freedom from exploitation, and the ability for workers to enter through a gate rather than risking their lives sneaking across borders or paying exorbitant fees to smugglers and coyotes. And it means fairness: in bringing families together (both sides care about that), and equal treatment for all—a chance for the undocumented to come out of the shadows and be treated like all other workers.

Any plan that appeals to people on all sides of this debate will inevitably attract attention. This one is already being considered carefully by a wide range of policy makers and congressional leaders in both Houses. A market-based guest worker component must be part of any immigration reform that has a chance to work, but it is more than just one part—it is the cornerstone.

V&V: Criticizing your “Red Card Solution,” Ann Coulter recently said that immigrant workers holding red cards could “stay, take American jobs, have children, receive welfare benefits, attend public schools—and eventually be granted amnesty.” Would you tell us what the red card program entails and why you think it’s a workable solution to certain problems involving immigrant workers?

Helen Krieble: The “Red Card Solution” begins with separating temporary work status from citizenship—two entirely separate processes. Businesses could post jobs with private employment firms located outside the United States and licensed by the government to issue work permits. Workers would undergo background checks to ensure they are not criminals, and smart-card technology would be used to track them and enforce the terms of their employment while in the United States. The work permit would not offer a path to citizenship or permanent status, and the costs would be entirely funded by user fees, not taxpayers. The vast majority of workers would then cross through gates, rather than sneak over fences, and would be taxpayers while in the United States, not tax drainers.

V&V: Would holders of red cards “eventually be granted amnesty,” as Coulter suggests? And would they receive welfare benefits or be able to attend public schools?

Krieble: The Red Card Solution does not support amnesty, no matter how many years someone has been breaking the law. It does not propose a path to permanent residency or citizenship. Only government can grant citizenship, a very serious life-changing decision by an immigrant who understands America’s history, culture, ideals, language, and government. Anyone in the world can apply for U.S. citizenship, but status as a guest worker should not confer any special place in line. Guest workers should not be eligible for welfare or other public benefits, nor should their children be automatic citizens. If they want such rights, there is a naturalization process for citizenship applicants, but that should have nothing whatsoever to do with temporary guest workers. That separation is one of the hallmarks of the Red Card Solution. Further, illegals already in the United States would have to leave the country and apply for the Red Card, prove employment, undergo the background check, and enter the country legally. There would be no amnesty for those in the country illegally.

V&V: Some critics of the red card are concerned that children born to red card holders while working in the United States would become “birthright citizens” as provided by the U.S. Constitution. How do you respond to this charge?

Krieble: We believe that is a misunderstanding of the intent of the 14th Amendment. It grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. Congress has the right and responsibility to determine who that includes, and has done so on many occasions. It was never intended to include children born to diplomats, foreign nationals, visitors, or others whose primary loyalty is to another government. Allowing people to come to the United States specifically to have children here—and thereby obtain special treatment in the immigration process—is contrary to the intent of our Constitution, and it should not be allowed. It is certainly not part of the Red Card Solution.

V&V: Why and how did you come up with the idea for the red card? And do you think red card workers would be taking “American jobs,” as Ann Coulter states?

Krieble: My own experience in hiring workers gave me a clear understanding of how badly “broken” our current visa system is. It sets artificial quotas on the number of workers allowed—quotas which have no basis in economic reality—and it leaves administration to a bureaucracy that simply cannot handle day-to-day business decisions quickly enough to respond to business needs. The beauty of privatizing the hiring process is that private firms charge fees for their services. Businesses do not pay head-hunters to find workers if they are available locally, so there would be an automatic, market-based advantage to American workers—an advantage the current illegal system actually negates by creating a class of lower-paid and readily available workers.

V&V: Do most “temporary” workers simply become permanent illegals and then bring their families to the United States?

Krieble: This is common under the current system, which, by making legal work status so difficult, turns many people who intended to be temporary workers into permanent immigrants. The Red Card Solution would change that by making it easier for people to come and go to visit their families while working in the United States, allowing them to build a better life back home. Workers with families earning minimum wage in the United States are impoverished, where those same wages can make them well-off in many countries. Their strong incentive is to earn money and then return home, if our system would allow it.

V&V: Who would run the red card system and how long would it take to get it up and running if it were to be embraced by Congress and by a future U.S. president?

Krieble: Private firms match specific workers to specific jobs every day all over the world, and they are experts at it. Employment firms already exist everywhere, so implementation would be as fast as there is a market for workers, and as fast as background checks can ensure safety (such checks take only a few minutes for most gun shops). Once there is an available pool of legal workers, strong enforcement against businesses who continue to hire illegally would dry up the market for illegal workers, and the borders would become more secure very quickly without the tens of thousands of workers trying to sneak through.

V&V: Where can an interested person find more detailed information on exactly how the plan would work?

Krieble: For a short summary, a white paper, and a 15-minute documentary, please go to www.RedCardSolution.com.

V&V: Thank you Helen Krieble; we look forward to seeing you in April.