Mark Finkelstein writes in his Jan. 29 NewsBusters post of “the current proposals on ‘the pathway to citizenship’—AKA amnesty—being floated.”
Hate to break it to you, Mark, but creating a path to citizenship is NOT amnesty.
The Gang of 8 immigration reform proposal, for instance, does not call for any sort of amnesty — which most non-demagogic activists would describe as citizenship without preconditions. ABC reports:
Arguably the most significant detail is the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for many of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants, but the process of obtaining citizenship is neither easy nor short.
Under the “Gang of Eight” plan, undocumented immigrants would be required to register with the federal government. Those without a criminal record would be eligible for “probationary legal status” if they pass a background check and pay fines and back taxes. The status would allow them to live and work legally in the U.S., but they would remain ineligible for federal benefits such as welfare of Medicaid.
Does that sound like amnesty to anyone? Only to people like Finkelstein, apparently. but calling it “amnesty” does not make it so.