there was a giant amnesty plan that was discussed a few years ago (was mccain one of the sponsors?), but nothing was ever put into action. a lot of people balked at the idea of giving amnesty to 13 million illegals. there was talk of having them move to the head of the line (some phrase like that) and paying a fine plus taxes, and then being on a fast track to citizenship.
honestly, i think we're at a point where we need to do something like this soon. nothing is being done, and the process is still lengthy. meanwhile, our borders are still a giant sieve.