Ronald Reagan wasn’t shy about the word back in 1984 when, in a debate with Walter Mondale, he said, “I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and who have lived here even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.” The resulting 1986 Reagan amnesty of course, is what helped taint the word in the first place, since the ranks of the undocumented more than doubled over the next three decades. That underscores another virtue of forthright language: It forces you to work through potential unintended consequences.

Devising a more logical immigration policy means having an honest discussion about it, rather than conspicuously emotional arguments about dangerous criminals, soft-focus dreamers, border walls and who’s going to pay for them. Slashing the number of legal immigrants, as President Trump has proposed, is a surefire way to increase the number of undocumented immigrants, given what we know about supply and demand. And it is both rational and humane to deprioritize deportation for young people who consider this country home and are living as Americans, in every sense but the official. This is why the notion of kicking the dreamers out is so persistently unpopular.