Each time we deport an illegal immigrant there should be an outstanding charge of $100,000 plus the cost of deportation attached to that individual. In addition, the illegal immigrants nation of citizenship should be charged $100,000 as well as the crossing nation; these funds should be collected via tariffs.
Obviously the illegal immigrant isn't going to pay the fine. But if they get caught again, we jail them and put them to work at minimum wage to pay off their fine (two since they are a repeat offender).
We don't want them to engage in labor that would be better off in the free market, so I have a solution. Something that would be nice to get done, but wouldn't make a dent in the free market labor pool: have them dig rainwater harvesting holes in the desert areas of America to catch rainwater. A 2-4 foot deep hole, 5-10 feet wide placed every 20-30 feet would turn huge areas green. In a few decades it would be enough to turn the entire southwest into a green patch.
It makes no sense to leave it a desert when it can be made greener. Especially when the desertification is relatively recent geologically speaking.
Why preserve the arid landscape?
Especially when as little as two hundred years ago, the beaver were exterminated in many areas, the ponds they created drained. The landscapes of water features were drained. Cattle killed off the existing flora. And what we were left with was dry landscapes with no natural depressions to hold water.
This is true of large swaths of Texas and the Desert Southwest.
And all it takes is manpower to return these areas to more fertile landscapes.
As little as a few thousand years ago the southwest was lush and green. Why does the current desert landscape need preserving? I'm not sold and there is literally nothing I could think of that would sway my opinion.