[quote=deadzone]
How can you prove how long they have been here? How do you prove they kept their noses clean? Given they are living and working illegally, with false names, SSN, etc. there is no way to know their background. Even if you could, you going to pick some arbitrary number of 10 years? So the other guy who was here 9 years is not eligible and must go home?[/quote]

Frankly, I’d reform the immigration policy to be more reasonable, then allow anyone already here to apply for permanent residency on a case-by-case basis using criteria like length of time, means of support, community ties, and lack of criminal record.

Even if they use a false SSN, if they get convicted of a serious crime, their prints will be recorded and can be used to trace them.