08/19/2001
From: Ronald Kyser
All the discussion on Vdare.com about various euphemisms for amnesty misses an important point — "amnesty" is itself a euphemism.A true amnesty is an exchange where one party waives the penalties for breaking the law if the other party agrees to obey that law in the future.
A tax amnesty requires the grantee to pay the tax. An illegal weapons amnesty requires the grantee to turn in his weapons, and agree not to replace them.
Thus an illegal entry amnesty would require the grantee to vacate the country before any penalties are waived. Anything less would not be "amnesty", but ex post facto legalization. Our use of the term actually cedes quite a bit of territory to the opponents.
August 19, 2001
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