Would this plan present logistical headaches? Absolutely. But probably no more, if as many, than those brought about by a plan to build a gargantuan fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Even so, it's fair to ask where such assimilation centers might be built and how much they would cost. But our poll respondents believe America has spent so much money rebuilding and otherwise supporting foreign countries that redirecting some funds to deal head-on with this pressing domestic problem suddenly seems smart.
What I've outlined here is a unique proposal, granted. I'm not surprised. Experience in polling has taught me that the American public is often both more reasonable and imaginative in hatching doable new public policies than are their elected representatives in Washington.
Let's put it this way: Why was an "Ellis Island" approach good for the goose of American history, but not for the gander of the present day? Millions of Americans have ancestors from Italy or Ireland or wherever, who were granted American citizenship, but who had to do a bit more than put two feet on American soil before earning that status. Why wouldn't the same process be fair now, ask our poll respondents.
All this is a day late and a dollar short, of course. Rather than looking to the past for answers, our political leaders once again have broken the rules by trying to reinvent them. By trying to make everyone happy, they've made most everyone angry.
Still, there's a lesson to be learned from our poll: When you've got a skeptical public, give them an intuitively sensible policy plan they can visualize. They'll meet you more than halfway.