You're starting from an unverified assumption (the presumed ineffectiveness of immigration enforcement), that's maybe why it feels off to you. How is it ineffective, and why? Once you have answers to that, you can start the conversation about policy.
There's millions of people currently in the US who aren't authorized to be in the US. 11 million, if you believe Pew's estimate (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-k...). I'm not sure how it's possible to avoid the conclusion that immigration enforcement isn't effective.
Why it's ineffective is, again, something that's been impossible to research for as long as I've been paying attention to immigration. I genuinely don't know where I could go to get answers. Other than a couple people spinning evidence-free conspiracy theories about their political opponents, nobody seems interested in analyzing it.
