amnesty

To grant amnesty is to grant a pardon to those who have committed an offense . Under immigration law , amnesty is a governmental pardon for a person or group of persons who violated policies related to immigration. Immigration amnesty would include the government forgiving individuals for using forged/false documentation to gain employment in the U.S. and to remain in the country, and would allow illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrant aliens to gain permanent residency in the United States.

For example, through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 , the U.S. government provided amnesty for all undocumented aliens present in the country that had arrived prior to January 1, 1982.

[Last reviewed in January of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

Keywords

• pardon
• undocumented alien

Wex

• CIVICS
• immigration law
• THE LEGAL PROCESS
• legal practice/ethics
• wex definitions