Francis Wilkinson, Columnist

The Case for Immigration Amnesty

To understand the case for or against immigration amnesty you have to start with The Fact: There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

November 20, 2014 at 7:53 PM UTC

By Francis Wilkinson

Francis Wilkinson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US politics and policy. Previously, he was executive editor for the Week and a writer for Rolling Stone.

Legalize it?
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To understand the case for or against immigration amnesty you have to start with The Fact: There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Almost all of them came here under President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton or even before.

Stating The Fact is important because you won’t hear it uttered by Republican politicians preparing to mount the barricades against President Barack Obama’s impending executive action. They love to talk about “border security.” Depending on the rhetorical needs of the moment, they relish tales either of the tyranny of a president who crushes opponents without remorse or of the weakness of a president who cowers in fear.