No Straw MenEnlightened discourse proscribes arguments that are weak or imaginary, like straw, set up only to be confuted summarily.

Is Deportation the Only Non-Amnesty Solution?

“Let’s not quibble,” Charles Krauthammer asserts. The immigration bill pending in Congress

grants the essentials of amnesty. True, there is a $5,000 fine (for a family of five!) attached to registering for legal status in the U.S. But the truly significant penalty for illegal immigration is deportation—which undoes everything the immigrant has built in America.

In other words, anything short of deportation qualifies as amnesty. But as Quin Hillyer points out, this is a mischaracterization:

Again and again and again, the mainstream anti-illegal immigration folks have said their preferred option is to get tough on border enforcement and get tougher on employers who hire illegals, and let the rest of the problem work itself over time by mere attrition. That is not a massive deportation scheme.

Note: Quin is referring to “mainstream” views, not those of Tom Tancredo.