President Trump’s promise to deport all illegal immigrants and his executive order starting that work puts producers and farmworkers in a difficult position.

It prompted us to dust off a reform proposal we made many times during the Obama administration and early in Trump’s first term until COVID pushed most everything else out of the news.

It is unclear whether Trump actually intends to carry out the mass deportation that he promised of 11 million or more illegal immigrants. So far, officials have focused their attention on “criminal aliens” and gang members.

Most Americans have little interest in allowing foreign nationals who have committed violent or serious property crimes to stay in the United States.

On the other hand, polls show that Americans have far more sympathy for immigrants who have entered illegally to escape poverty and persecution, and who have tried to live quiet and useful lives.

Many illegal immigrants fill invaluable roles in our economy, particularly in agriculture.

Farmers who raise vegetables, fruit and nursery crops depend on immigrant labor, as do many processors and packers. It’s generally agreed that most of these workers, as many as 85 percent in some areas, are in the country illegally and are providing employers with fake papers.

Immigrants working under fake papers are violating several federal and state laws. Employers who hire, or continue to employ, workers who they know to be undocumented are liable for audit and prosecution for violating immigration law.

So, an informal “don’t ask, don’t tell” arrangement exists between employers and employees.

Democratic and Republican presidential administrations for decades have tried to come up with effective and fair means of addressing illegal immigrants that ranged from deportation to amnesty.

Trump is enforcing immigration laws that have been on the books for decades. Members of Congress who have howled loudly over recent deportation actions need to change the laws.

The Constitution (Article 1, Section 8) gives Congress sole power to “establish a uniform rule of naturalization.”

We want a program that secures the border, revises the guest worker program, and grants illegals currently in the country a reasonable path to permanent residency.

Congress should offer illegal immigrants willing to register temporary legal status and a path to permanent residency after 10 years if they meet strict requirements — no prior felony convictions, no violations while awaiting residency, learning to speak English and pay any back taxes. Those not meeting the requirement should be deported.

As a penalty for entering illegally, those made permanent residents should not be eligible for citizenship.

We think the border must be secured. No one guilty of serious crimes here or abroad should be allowed to stay. A viable guestworker program must be established, and employers must verify the work status of their employees.

The choice is simple: Make them go, or let them stay.

Find a way to let those who have demonstrated the desire to be part of the fabric of America to stay.