They said General Cedras and his associates feared that any amnesty legislation would force the military to comply with the Governors Island Agreement, which required them to relinquish power.

Thus, if the Haitian National Assembly fails to pass amnesty legislation by the deadline, General Cedras and his associates are still required to step down.

Day in and day out, as the immigration debate boils, the halls of Congress are haunted by the specter of Senate Bill 1200, the failed amnesty legislation of 1986.

Derby-Lewis and Walus could also walk free under the terms of amnesty legislation also being prepared by Omar.

Chairman Smith: "With the national debt at $14.5 trillion, it's unbelievable that President Obama continues to call for amnesty legislation.

He pushed for the nullification of the amnesty legislation from the moment he took office in 2003.

The amnesty legislation had benefited 792,176 people, among them:

A16 Congress Looks Back to 1986 As the debate on immigration reaches a boil, Congress is haunted by Senate Bill 1200, the failed amnesty legislation of 1986.

The ruling involved a decade-old lawsuit against an immigration policy that grew out of the amnesty legislation enacted in 1986.

Granting amnesty is a habit in El Salvador; Parliament passed amnesty legislation in 1987 and in 1992 as well.