Two principles on immigration

Immigration is a tough issue for liberals. We abhor anything that smacks of racism or xenophobia, but we also worry about excessive numbers depressing wages, with negative ripple effects throughout the economy. I don’t know the answers, but we can at least apply these basic principles: (1) yes, uphold principles of law, but not by criminalizing or otherwise demonizing hard-working people just trying to do something for their families – with no phony issues like “learning English,” because they do, probably faster than your German immigrant ancestors did; (2) one way or another, we must eliminate or minimize – or overcome through parallel policies – letting immigration be used to drag down wages.
To me, anyway, that’s where we start.