Fixing Immigration in America: A Common Sense Plan for Immigration Reform

by Robert Coughlon Jr.

A Practical Plan to Fix America’s Immigration System

For millions of long-term undocumented immigrants, there is no possibility of “doing it the right way” under the current immigration law. In addition, the U.S. economy depends on their vital contributions to the workforce. True immigration reform is a matter of fairness, human dignity, and protecting our immigrant friends and neighbors on whom American businesses rely.

Fixing Immigration in America cuts through party politics to deliver a clear, compassionate blueprint where everyday citizens can find common ground. Drawing on over thirty years as an immigration lawyer, Robert Coughlon, Jr., lays out realistic solutions that protect peaceful noncitizens by reforming the immigration laws in a common sense way. The plan in this book is a “win-win” for everybody on all sides of the immigration debate.

Inside, you will

The power of Registry Learn how updating a forgotten legal tool (Section 249) offers an earned path to legal status for peaceful, long-term residents.Independent immigration Discover why moving immigration judges out of Executive Branch control is essential to restoring judicial fairness and clearing massive court backlogs.Targeted civil law Explore a practical framework for ICE reform that restores agency integrity and uses a strict “50-mile rule” to stop profiling, while keeping federal agents focused on serious transnational crime.Modernized border Examine how deploying 100% Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at ports of entry could prevent drug trafficking far more effectively than physical barriers alone.Economic Uncover data showing how legal workforce channels safeguard American agriculture, residential construction, and national fiscal stability.Written in clear, understandable language for everyday readers, yet packed with concrete legislative proposals for lawmakers, this book gives every American a straightforward guide to solving the immigration crisis once and for all.

“This book is an important contribution to the discussion of immigration reform.” — Ira Kurzban, past-national President and former General Counsel of the American Immigration Lawyers Association

Genres: Nonfiction

186 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2026

Reviews

[Salvador Macias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now is the time for the Country to read this BOOK! Mr. Coughlon perfectly encapsulates and describes the faults in our current immigration policy. He does it in a way that is easily digestible and clear, with recommendations on how we can move forward. As an immigration attorney, I believe this is a must read for our elected officials or anyone looking to run for office. That being said, this book is for everyone! It's a fast read with distinguishable chapters focused on specific immigration topics. Read and share with everyone you know!

[Victoria Gilder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fixing Immigration in America: A Common Sense Plan for Immigration Reform offers a practical, policy-focused contribution to one of the most complex and consequential debates in American public life. Drawing on decades of experience in immigration law, Robert Coughlon Jr. examines how existing laws and institutions affect long-term undocumented residents, employers, the legal system, and the broader economy. The result is a book centered on concrete proposals rather than simply restating familiar political arguments.

One of the book’s strengths is its attention to multiple dimensions of reform, including the Registry provision, immigration court independence, enforcement practices, border inspection technology, and legal workforce channels. By bringing these subjects into one discussion, Coughlon encourages readers to consider how legal fairness, effective administration, public safety, and economic needs intersect. The emphasis on understandable language also makes a complex policy subject more accessible to readers outside the legal profession.

This book may be particularly valuable for readers interested in immigration law, public policy, economic issues, and the search for workable legislative solutions. Its focus on specific proposals gives readers a useful starting point for examining the debate more closely and considering how different approaches might affect individuals, institutions, and communities. It is a timely contribution for anyone seeking a more detailed understanding of the questions surrounding immigration reform.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lays out a path through some of our current issues regarding immigration law in the United States. Its plain language and non-partisan tone are indicative of its author’s dacades of experience in the trenches of immigration law.

The writing is repetitive in some places and a few terms are left undefined, but its biggest flaw is that it assumes Americans are rational people, or at least act rationally. Coughlon maps out a solid set of laws and policies based on logic, law, precedent, and economics while treating people with dignity, both citizens and undocumented immigrants alike, in a balanced approach that seems impossible in our current political and social climate.

This book makes too much sense in a nonsensical climate. It argues for solid reform from a government that acts for its own political preservation. The actions of the American government, and the great majority of politicians from the local to national level, are skewed to their own motives.

The worst part of all of this is that Mr. Coughlon brings to bear sources which reveal how this reform actually works to the benefit of citizens clamouring for relief from immigrants. Coughlon shows how the reforms he proposes inures to the benefit of all Americans, not just undocumented immigrants.

Read this book and despair at where the United States is as a nation, or read it and become energized at what America has been or should be, an exemplar of freedom, democracy, and individual potential for all.