re: No, Reagan did not offer an amnesty by lawess executive order

quote:

---

Reagan and Bush merely exercised their right of prosecutorial discretion, prioritizing within the Executive Branch which illegals to deport. This is well-established procedure.

Creating a federal guest-worker program and issuing federal work documents is quite another affair. That is what Obama is doing.

---

quote:

---

Some people have misunderstood the ruling and see it as an extension of the 1986 amnesty program or the equivalent of residence status.

---

quote:

---

The new family policy provides for legal status for spouses and unmarried children under 18 who have lived continuously in the United States since before the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of Nov. 7, 1986. Aliens covered under the new policy are granted voluntary departure status and given the right to work. They become eligible for benefits and eventually for residence, said a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Duane Austin. He warned that if the family members go on welfare they could be deported.

---