APPLETON, WI (July 8, 2026) – Candidate, Mark Scheffler for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, today announced a new comprehensive immigration framework, titled “Restoring Order, Fairness, and Opportunity.” The proposal outlines a balanced, seven-step approach to fix America’s broken immigration system by moving past the polarizing extremes of open borders and mass deportation.

“For decades, Congress has dragged its feet on fixing our immigration system, even as things have gotten worse—from border security and worker shortages to long court backlogs and humanitarian crises.” said Mark Scheffler. “Instead of looking at immigration as an all-or-nothing choice, we need real, common-sense changes. We can secure our borders, follow the law, and boost our economy while still treating people with basic human dignity and fixing the legal system so it actually works.”

Scheffler’s framework is built upon four guiding principles: upholding the Rule of Law, protecting Human Dignity, ensuring Economic Responsibility, and prioritizing Public Safety.

To achieve these goals, Scheffler is proposing a seven-step strategy:

  1. A Secure and Orderly Border: Deploying modern surveillance technology, improving physical infrastructure, increasing border staffing, and expanding immigration court capacity to process asylum claims faster and reduce incentives for unauthorized entry.
  2. The SAFE Registry: Creating the Secure Accountability for Foreign Entrants (SAFE) Registry, a modern, secure digital system to document individuals legally required to register under federal law. The registry will focus purely on administrative accountability and communication, not on determining status or creating immigration benefits.
  3. Expanding Legal Immigration: Modernizing temporary and seasonal work visa programs, updating employment-based caps, and streamlining credential recognition so employers in agriculture, manufacturing, and technology can meet workforce needs legally.
  4. Earned Legal Status: Establishing a rigorous, earned pathway—not automatic citizenship—for long-term residents. Requirements include passing criminal background checks, paying taxes, registering through the SAFE Registry, learning English, and demonstrating self-sufficiency.
  5. Smarter Enforcement: Prioritizing finite enforcement resources on high-risk individuals, including violent criminals, human traffickers, drug cartels, gang members, and repeat offenders.
  6. Modern Immigration Courts: Clearing decades of backlogs by hiring additional immigration judges, expanding digital case management, and establishing faster timelines for straightforward cases.
  7. Accountability for Employers: Implementing universal electronic employment verification and stronger penalties for intentional violations, while simplifying compliance for businesses acting in good faith.

“Immigration reform is unlikely to succeed through enforcement alone or through legalization alone,” Scheffler noted. “A real solution requires doing both. By tackling every angle of this crisis at once, we can finally move past temporary band-aids and build a system that is stable, transparent, and built to handle our country’s economic and security needs for decades to come.”

For more information about Mark Scheffler’s platform and his sustainable policies for the economy, society, and the environment, please visit www.mark4wi.info/media