If you care about justice, democracy, or labor rights, a “path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants should be a no-brainer. Denying millions of US residents the right to vote in elections that impact their lives is an affront to basic democratic principles, and noncitizens who have to worry about deportation are far more likely to hesitate before joining unions or seeking legal action against employers who violate labor laws.

Ideally, this “path” would be about as complicated as getting a public library card after moving to a new town. But even a long and winding path is better than no path at all. And given Democrats’ campaign rhetoric on this issue, enacting some path for at least a significant percentage of undocumented workers is the least they can do.

Or so you would think.