Campaign Statements — Immigration
Monday January 23, 2012
“Yes, we’d have a card that indicates who’s here illegally. And if people are not able to have a card, and have through an E-Verify system determine that they are here illegally, then they’re going to find they can’t get work here. And if people don’t get work here, they’re going to self-deport to a place where they can get work.
Ultimately, with this transition period in place, we would then allow people to get in line at home and to come back to this country after they have reached the front of the line. But I just don’t think it’s fair to the people who have loved ones waiting in line legally to come to America and say, guess what? We’re going to encourage a wave of illegal immigration by giving amnesty of some kind to those who have come here illegally.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Immigration | Mitt Romney |
Monday January 23, 2012
“Well, the answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can’t find work here because they don’t have legal documentation to allow them to work here. And so we’re not going to round people up.
The way that we have in this society is to say, look, people who have come here legally would, under my plan, be given a transition period and the opportunity during that transition period to work here, but when that transition period was over, they would no longer have the documentation to allow them to work in this country. At that point, they can decide whether to remain or whether to return home and to apply for legal residency in the United States, get in line with everybody else. And I know people think but that’s not fair to those that have come here illegally.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Immigration | Mitt Romney |
Monday January 23, 2012
“I would not sign the DREAM Act as it currently exists, but I would sign the DREAM Act if it were focused on military service.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Immigration | Mitt Romney |
Monday January 23, 2012
“I would work to get a signable version [of the DREAM Act] which would be the military component. I think any young person living in the United States who happened to have been brought here by their parents when they were young should have the same opportunity to join the American military and earn citizenship which they would have had from back home.
We have a clear provision that if you live in a foreign country, and you are prepared to join the American military, you can, in fact, earn the right to citizenship by serving the United States and taking real risk on behalf of the United States. That part of the DREAM Act I would support. I would not support the part that simply says everybody who goes to college is automatically waived for having broken the law.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Civil Liberties | Immigration | Newt Gingrich |
Monday January 23, 2012
“Yes, my answer is similar, but a little bit different, because at the national level, obviously we have to have one language. I mean, we can’t have multiple languages. So, for legal reasons, we would have one language.
But our system really gives us a way to be more generous, because if Florida wanted to have some ballots in Spanish, I certainly wouldn’t support a federal law that would prohibit Florida from accommodating a city election or a local election or a state election. I think that’s the magnificence of our system, where you can solve some of these problems without dictating one answer for all states. But nationally, we should have one language.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Immigration | Ron Paul |
Monday January 23, 2012
“Look, English is the language of this nation. People need to learn English to be able to be successful, to get great jobs. We don’t want to have people limited in their capacity to achieve the American dream because they don’t speak English. And so encouraging people through every means possible to learn the language of America is a good idea.
Recognize at the same time we want people coming here from other cultures that speak other languages. That strengthens America. It’s a great thing. But having them learn English is also a great thing for them and for their kids.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: American Exceptionalism | Immigration | Mitt Romney |
Monday January 23, 2012
MODERATOR: “Why is it OK for you to court voters in Spanish, but not OK for the government to serve them in Spanish?”
NEWT GINGRICH: “Well, first of all, you immediately jump down to a very important language, but not the only language. The challenge of the United States is simple. There are 86 languages in Miami Dade College, 86. There are over 200 languages spoken in Chicago.
Now, how do you unify the country? What — what is the common bond that enables people to be both citizens and to rise commercially and have a better life and a greater opportunity?
I think campaigning, historically, you’ve always been willing to go to people on their terms in their culture, whether it’s Greek Independence Day or something you did for the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. And I’m perfectly happy to be on Radio Mambi, and I’m perfectly happy to have a lot of support in the Hispanic community.
But as a country to unify ourselves in a future in which there may well be 300 or 400 languages spoken in the United States, I think it is essential to have a central language that we expect people to learn and to be able to communicate with each other in.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: American Exceptionalism | Immigration | Newt Gingrich |
Thursday January 19, 2012
“I want to make the point that on the very first day that I’m inaugurated, I will issue an executive order to the Justice Department to drop the lawsuits against South Carolina, Alabama and Arizona. The federal government should enforce the law, not stop states from helping it enforce the law.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Immigration | Newt Gingrich |
Thursday January 19, 2012
“No, I don’t agree with those laws [making it illegal to hire illegal immigrants.]
But that doesn’t mean that I’m soft on the issue of illegal immigration. It’s illegal. I can’t imagine anybody standing up here and saying, oh, I’m for illegal immigration. We’re all against illegal immigration.
But I think what we fail to do is—is look at the incentives, and it has a lot to do with economics. There’s an economic incentive for them to come, for immigrants to come, but there’s also an incentive for some of our people in this country not to take a job that’s a low-paying job. You’re not supposed to say that, but that is true.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Immigration | Ron Paul |
Thursday January 19, 2012
“...we need to underscore the fact that we’re a party of legal immigration. We like legal immigration. We want legal immigration.
And to protect legal immigration, we want to stop illegal immigration. And we don’t want to do anything that would suggest to people, come on in here, just wait long enough, whether it’s five years or 10 years, wait long enough and we’ll take you all in on an amnesty basis. I want people to get in line legally.”
Read More »
CATEGORIES: Immigration | Mitt Romney |
Back to Main Candidates Page »
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
