The following is the section from the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (Scamnesty) that implements amnesty:
S 1639 PCS 644
‘‘(8) TEMPORARY STAY OF REMOVAL AND WORK
AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN APPLICANTS.—
‘‘(A) BEFORE APPLICATION PERIOD.—Beginning on the date of enactment of the AgJOBS Act of 2007, the Secretary shall provide that, in the case of an alien who is apprehended prior to the first date of the application period described in subsection (c)(1)(B) and who can establish a non-frivolous case of eligibility for a Z–A visa (but for the fact that the alien may not apply for such status until the beginning of such period), the alien—
‘‘(i) may not be removed; and
‘‘(ii) shall be granted authorization to engage in employment in the United States and be provided an employment authorized endorsement or other appropriate work permit for such purpose.
‘‘(B) DURING APPLICATION PERIOD.—The Secretary shall provide that, in the case of an alien who presents a non-frivolous application for Z–A visa during the application period described in subsection (c)(1)(B), including an alien who files such an application within 30 days of the alien’s apprehension, and until a final determination on the application has been made in accordance with this section, the alien—
‘‘(i) may not be removed; and
‘‘(ii) shall be granted authorization to engage in employment in the United States and be provided an employment authorized endorsement or other appropriate work permit for such purpose.
I've reformatted it so it will wrap to the web page window but I haven't changed any of the wording.
NOTES:
The above text is an amendment to United States Code Title 8 (available as a 505 page 2.41MB download), not a new law.
I consider the documentation requirements to support a "not-trivial" application to be trivial and easily forged.
Once an illegal alien has a work permit (and a Social Security card, since they can't work without one) there is no way to ensure that they will ever return to pay fines or complete their application for permission to stay legally.
The government can't stop convicted felons from re-entering the country and committing more crimes now, there is no reason to believe they will be able to do so in the future.