It is a form of amnesty - there is no question about that. No one said it is a full or blanket amnesty. The fact of the matter is that one day there will be illegals and their employers and the next day some of the illegals and their employers will no longer fear arrest, deportation, a trial, a criminal record, having paid a token bribe...er...fee and filled out the proper paperwork.
And closing the borders is not a vague thing to people like me who can look at the wide-open border out of their window. I can, literally, see the border from where I am sitting as I type this. I've been to the border road and seen the pitiful twisted few strands of wire they call a border fence - and some places that have no fence at all. If I look just right, I can see the border barriers near Naco, Arizona and, at night, the lights that light up a short section of the border there. I can also see that the length of that barrier and lighted area is very short and entirely inadequate.
How vague is: erect a border barrier, monitor the barrier, interdict those who attempt to cross the barrier, allow crossing only at predetermined international crossing points, check all people who cross at those points for proper visas and other documentation. Most Americans assume that this is already going on. I can tell you that it is NOT.
Is it vague to ask that current laws be upheld and enforced. Illegals should be caught and deported. Their employers should be prosecuted. Those who enabled the illegals in their illegal entry or their stay here should also be prosecuted. The laws are there already and only need to be enforced. There is nothing vague about this.
I understand what I'm arguing about. I know of the vague things that Bush proposed and that they equal a form of amnesty. I know that the Kolbe, McCain, Flake guest worker plan is a form of amnesty and it rewards lawbreakers. I know that Cornyn's legislation is outright amnesty as is that proposed by Daschle.
I refuse to pretend that these proposals are anything otherwise. As Travis McGee said in an earlier post in this thread - don't piss on my leg and tell me that it is raining. I can tell the difference.
ALTERNATIVES. You can't give detailed alternatives without learning and understanding every aspect of the problem. Lack of detailed alternatives is vagueness. Please stop snarling and begin discussion, or you'll lose this debate.