How to deal with illegal immigration?

(picture is US-Mexico border in New Mexico; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_border)

Illegal immigration has always been a hot topic every 4 years in the United States during presidential elections. According to estimates from Brookings, there are about 10 million illegal immigrants in the US, with ~50% originating from Mexico. So what do we do? During the 2020 presidential debates, Joe Biden stated that he would pursue a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants. Since inauguration, the Biden administration has halted the border wall started under previous President Trump, and there has been a surge in illegal immigration at the southern border of the US. According to the Pew Research Center, about 3/4 of US citizens believe that illegal immigrants should be given a legal path to remain in the country. But what's the path?

I propose this course of action. First, immediately halt all illegal immigration, with a policy that any person found to illegally enter the US after such date will be deported, no excuses. Second, allow all illegal immigrants currently in the country to become citizens the old fashion way, by passing the citizenship exam. No one will be subjected to deportation, however no illegal immigrant will have the rights of an American citizen until they pass the citizenship exam, which must be given in english.

This proposal allows for forgiveness and empathy. We are not so stonehearted as to forcibly deport people who have children and families, even if they did enter illegally. Additionally, we are still a country of laws and justice. It would not be just to all the people who arrived legally and to all the people waiting to immigrate legally to the United States to simply grant 10 million illegal immigrants citizenship.