Any legislation that allows the lawbreakers to stay and work here is amnesty. Legalization with or without a path to citizenship is amnesty. I gave you the following quote from Luis Gutierrez who is the Dem leader in the House on the issue:
Right now we have to stop the deportations that are breaking up families. And if we do not get citizenship this year, we will be back next year and the year after that
What if the GOP made changes to the law regarding citizenship as part of a deal? Changes that rule out 90% of them?
It matters not. Once you legalize them, citizenship will follow. We can't have second class citizenship. The Dems will make it a big political issue and the courts will weigh in as well.
Now come on, there are specific requirements for citizenship, they are way too weak for me but it is not automatic. Those are what needs to be fixed.