On his Fox News show Monday night, Bill O'Reilly further widened the chasm that exists between him and his colleagues when it comes to illegal immigration. Discussing the issue with Newt Gingrich, O'Reilly outlined a program that would eventually lead millions of undocumented immigrants on a path to legal status -- a plan many of his Fox News colleagues would deride as “amnesty.” Gingrich, who has been attacked recently for his “humane” stance on immigration, agreed with O'Reilly.

According to O'Reilly's proposal, undocumented immigrants would need to register in a national database before a review of their status could be implemented:

O'REILLY: The 11 million illegal immigrants already here have to be dealt with in some way. My program, which I've had up on BillO'Reilly.com for years, says you start with registering. You give illegal aliens a time period -- maybe a month, maybe two months -- that they have to register at the Post Office with their name, their address, and their status, all right. And if they have a Social Security number or something like that they have it. If they don't register within the time period that the government decides, it's a felony.

Indeed, O'Reilly has been publicizing his “no spin immigration solution” for years. Following the failure of comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, O'Reilly said on his June 8, 2007, show (via Nexis):

O'REILLY: [R]ight now, I'm going to give you the no spin immigration solution. It is simple because, as you know, I am a simple man. There are just four components. One, secure the southern border with 700, not 300 miles of barrier, double the border patrol and back them up with 10,000 National Guards people. That would effectively shut down human and drug smuggling from Mexico.

Two, require all illegal aliens in the country right now to register at the post office with Homeland Security. After registering, they would be given a tamper proof ID card, designating their status and their right to work temporarily in the USA. If the illegal aliens do not register, it's a criminal felony. Right now sneaking across the border is a civil action. Remember that. Subjecting the person to immediate deportation or jail time. The criminal penalty goes way up.

Three, any business that hires an illegal worker who doesn't have a tamper proof ID card faces draconian fines and possible prison time for the executives.

And four, each illegal alien would have his case reviewed by federal authorities. And they would decide who would receive a Z-visa to stay and who would not. That takes the blanket amnesty, something many American hate, off the table. It also allows the Feds to make rational decisions about who's helping America and who isn't.

He reiterated the proposal the following Monday, saying on June 11, 2007: “Last Friday Talking Points put forth the no-spin immigration plan, which is one page long. I believe most Americans want the following -- a secure border and illegal alien registration so the feds know who's here and what they're doing, and punishment for business people who hire illegal immigrants. After that, I believe most Americans would accept a case-by-case evaluation of those here illegally. So let's stop the nonsense. Isolate the extremists and pass a strong bill that protects Americans, helps the economy, and is humane. It can be done.”

He again touted his proposal a few months later, saying: “Talking Points believes that tight border security, including a fence and the National Guard, is the first step, followed by alien registration and working permits for those who have legitimate jobs and a clean record. Also, American businesses that continue to hire illegals have to be heavily fined. There is no other way to solve this problem.”

O'Reilly's proposal is similar to what Senate Democrats suggested last year. In April 2010, Sens. Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer, and others released a draft of a proposal for comprehensive immigration reform that included a registration program for undocumented immigrants. The “Conceptual Proposal For Immigration Reform” outlined a registration program to “give them provisional status with work authorization and ability to travel abroad,” as the National Immigration Forum put it. From INF:

Once the family backlogs are clear, assumed to be eight years, legalizing immigrants will be able to petition for permanent resident status. Eligibility will be determined by criteria similar to what has been included in previous reform bills -- acquiring English language skills, passing criminal background and security checks, and paying taxes.

Spouses and minor children of persons who have gained provisional status would be eligible to join their legalized family member.

This proposal gives immigrants who have been living in the U.S. in Temporary Protected Status, and who have always worried that the time would come when they had to leave the U.S., would be able to apply for legalization.

While O'Reilly persists in smearing immigrants as “aliens” -- as he did last night -- and frequently engages in disparaging comments about them, his stance on immigration is a far cry from the irresponsible rhetoric that passes for immigration discussion on Fox, where any workable solution to illegal immigration is blasted as “amnesty” and where hosts and guests routinely misinform on Obama administration efforts to secure the border, among other things.

For example, The Five's Eric Bolling recently argued that President Obama “usurped” the Constitution and “provided a backdoor amnesty” to undocumented immigrants when he instituted new deportation rules to prioritize people convicted of crimes or who pose a serious risk. And Bolling has advocated a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, calling for “putting” them “on buses and sending them back” to their home countries.

In a later segment on the show Monday night, O'Reilly also dismissed the idea of militarizing the border. He pointed out that the National Guard is in essence the military on the border, adding: “We don't need to take the Navy SEALs and put them outside Tijuana. The Guard will do.” Fox, of course, has repeatedly given a platform to Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu to insist on militarizing the border.

O'Reilly's moderate view on immigration is in keeping with what a Media Matters study recently found in analyzing of Fox News coverage about the issue. Of shows with more than 100 guests in the time period we researched, The O'Reilly Factor proved to be the most balanced when it came to whom the network chose to discuss immigration. While overall, Fox News favored anti-immigrant voices 62 percent of the time, 45 percent of Factor hosts were anti-immigrant. Thirty percent of the show's guests were pro-immigrant (18 percent overall), which was the highest percentage of all Fox opinion shows.