Illegals could apply for legalization provided they met several criteria. Among them was that they had to be living and working in the country for at least 4 years, could not have committed any sort of major crimes, they had to provide some sort of proof or statements from their employers showing that they had been working in job during their years here in the U.S., etc.. Oh, and you can look through the entire text of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and nowhere will you find the word "amnesty" listed. So I guess technically the politicians that voted for it can claim that they never actually gave anyone "amnesty".
The problem with Bush is that he is pushing his amnesty proposal with the benefit of hindsight as to the flaws and failures of the the '86 Act. Legalizing millions of illegals only encourages even more illegal immigration and the '86 legislation has proven that in spades.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1065553/posts
He did a lot of research; not all of it well done. Reagan's Amnesty WAS indeed a BLANKET AMNESTY. I was not only alive, but a sentient adult, who had worked to get Reagan elected, gone to his inaugurals, and was/am a huge supporter of his when that happened. I don't overlook FACTS; unlike some.