My question is: What is the path to citizenship that's already there? Does he mean the path open to those who came here legally? If so, he's extending a legal path to the illegals. If he means any path that was made for illegals, that is amnesty, even if he doesn't want to use the word.
Please clarify, anyone, if I'm not getting this right.
If you look at the context, he was talking about making the border secure and making it not so difficult to get here legally. I think that answers the question of what he meant by the path to citizenship that is already here.
I wonder how many illegals would go back to Mexico and come in the legal way if they knew that they would be deported and disallowed from coming back if they are caught now but that the wait time will be relatively short for them to come in legally with all the proper safety checks and documentation - specifically if our government stops arming the drug cartels that are butchering whole towns in Mexico which then flee to the US for refuge.
I think a realistic look at the whole situation is very much in order.