Tomorrow night, the remaining Republican candidates for President will debate in Arizona, the state that has become internationally infamous for draconian immigration laws. One can only expect that the debate will result in GOP candidates reaching new lows in terms of their anti-immigration and anti-Latino rhetoric. Before the debate starts, let's get up to date on the four remaining candidates and their positions on immigration. To find all of their views in one quick and handy place, I recommend you bookmark these two resources:
- ThinkProgress has compiled Republican nominees' positions on immigration issues and a host of quotes on a range of immigration-related topics here.
- The New York Times has a list summing up their positions on immigration and every other major issue here.
Mitt Romney
Mitt has taken some of the strongest anti-immigration positions on the campaign trail. He's currently under fire from Latino Republicans and Latino Mormons for his opposition to the DREAM Act. He attacked Rick Perry in a previous debate over our governor's support for allowing undocumented students to get in-state tuition, which Romney described as providing "a magnet for illegal immigrants." Romney's campaign also attacked Gingrich for his more moderate position supporting a path towards legal citizenship. Ironically, Mitt previously supported a path to citizenship during past campaigns, but given the fervent anti-immigration attitude of the GOP base, he's clearly changed his mind. Romney even introduced the laughable concept of "self deportation," in which undocumented immigrants simply send themselves home. I guess that's what passes for fiscal responsibility?
Romney on Immigration:
Opposes a path to citizenship, though he previously supported it
Opposes tuition breaks to in-state undocumented immigrants
Opposes the DREAM Act and in-state tuition for undocumented students
Opposes birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants
Supports self-deportation, which arguably is not a real policy proposal
Rick Santorum
Santorum's immigration stance falls in line with the general, hard-line positions held by most GOP hopefuls on the issue. He actually supports creating more broken families through a relentless policy of deportation. He also wants to finish building the border fence. (Gotta keep those Canadians out somehow!)
Santorum on Immigration:
Opposes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
Supports building more fencing along the border
Supports making English the official national language
Opposes the DREAM Act and in-state tuition for undocumented students
Voted in 2006 against establishing a Guest Worker program that provided a path to citizenship
Newt Gingrich
In a clown-car full of crazies, Newt Gingrich has actually espoused the least inhumane immigration policies, and drawn serious heat from Romney as a result. Gingrich does support a border that he claims can be "100% controlled" by the National Guard. However, he opposes mass deportation, stating that deporting 11 million people is not logistically or economically feasible. As a result, he's been endorsed by Somos Republicans, the Hispanic GOP organization, simply because he's the least inhumane. Ironically, Gingrich is better on immigration than he is on child labor -- he's not asking undocumented immigrants to work as janitors in exchange for a public education.
Gingrich on Immigration:
Opposes mass deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants
Supports residency permits for undocumented immigrants rather than citizenship
Supports making English the official national language
Wants to outsource E-Verify system to credit card corporations
Supports work visas for highly skilled immigrants
Ron Paul
Immigration isn't a big issue for Paul, who's too busy trying to reinstate the gold standard. He does want to bring our troops home from abroad to patrol the Mexican border, but doesn't want to spend money to build a border fence. However, he loses points for his racist newsletters, just because.
Paul on Immigration:
Opposes the DREAM Act and in-state tuition for undocumented students
Opposes mass deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants
Supports immigrants who can "take care of themselves," opposes blanket amnesty due to welfare cost concerns
Does not endorse "open borders," what he terms the "purist Libertarian" view
Voted in 2006 for Secure Fence Act, but says he does not support building a fence
Voted in 2004 for a bill that required hospitals to report undocumented immigrants
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Misery loves company, so join BOR here in Austin as we watch the debate at Angie's in East Austin. All the details are on Facebook. Thanks to our sponsors for their generous support of this event! |
