GOP says Obama immigration plan is 'amnesty.' Is that accurate?
| Washington
Does President Obama鈥檚 upcoming unilateral action on immigration constitute 鈥渁mnesty"?
That鈥檚 the word Republicans opposed to the move use to describe it. Just look at Sunday鈥檚 morning news shows to see that rhetorical trope in action. Sen. Mike Lee (R) of Utah, on 鈥�,鈥� said that one of the policies voters rejected in the midterm elections was 鈥減ossible executive action on amnesty.鈥� Over at 鈥�,鈥� Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) of Louisiana said 鈥渋t鈥檚 not going to be popular to grant amnesty to millions of folks ... that are here illegally.鈥�
鈥淎mnesty鈥� is a powerful word, of course, which is why the GOP uses it as a talking point. It connotes forgiveness for a past transgression. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines it as 鈥渁 general pardon granted by a government, especially for political offenses.鈥�
We don鈥檛 yet know the details of Mr. Obama鈥檚 action, so we can鈥檛 say for sure whether it would fit this definition. Preliminary indications are that the White House will defer the deportation of people in the country illegally whose children are American citizens or have permanent residence green cards. That could affect some 3.3 million undocumented immigrants, according to some estimates.
These people would receive work permits and Social Security numbers and could travel freely within the US without worry that they will be seized by law enforcement and kicked out. That sure seems to fit one aspect of the word 鈥減ardon,鈥� since they broke the law by sneaking into the US in the first place.
In that sense, 鈥渁mnesty鈥� might be accurate.
But in another sense it isn鈥檛. Obama鈥檚 action would be temporary, according to numerous reports about his impending order. He cannot grant illegal immigrants permanent citizenship or green cards. He can only use his law enforcement discretion to promise to defer prosecution for their status.
So if 鈥渁mnesty鈥� means lasting forgiveness, it doesn鈥檛 fit. A future president could undo Obama鈥檚 move with a stroke of a pen. Congress could pass legislation that would negate it 鈥� though a president would have to sign the bill if it were to become law.
The time-limited nature of Obama鈥檚 upcoming immigration move isn鈥檛 getting a lot of attention, at Slate. Both sides have an incentive to try and make the action seem more world-historical than it actually is.
鈥淎s the Washington hype machine kicks into high gear over the next several weeks, keep in mind that the bulk of Obama鈥檚 moves will not be permanent ones. Real, lasting change to our immigration policy can come only from Congress,鈥� Mr. Voorhees writes.
