Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder: Immigration reform a federal issue worth talking about
By Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com
Updated: Monday, January 23, 2012, 3:05 PM
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Gov. Rick Snyder says he won't endorse a candidate for the upcoming presidential election because Michigan voters did not hire him to meddle in federal politics.
But as he suggested in last week's State of the State address, there's at least one federal issue he is willing to get involved with: Immigration.
Speaking Friday at a business community luncheon hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber, Snyder said he will "stand up" as a spokesperson for federal legislation that would encourage highly-educated engineers and entrepreneurs to stay in the United States after college.
"We're educating these kids, they're going to our universities, they're getting their Ph.Ds in engineering right here and then we're telling them to leave our country? That's pretty dumb," Snyder said.
Immigration reform remains a hot-button issue at both the local and federal levels, and Snyder explained that he only supports legislation that would facilitate legal immigration for those who have earned advanced degrees or will start businesses here.
In other words, he will not back the DREAM Act, proposed legislation that would allow a path to permanent residence for young people who entered the country illegally before the age of 16 but served in the military or attended two years of college.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said last week that he would veto the DREAM Act if he were elected and it reached his desk. Snyder, asked about the legislation, suggested he would rather avoid controversy by easing immigration rules only for entrepreneurs and advanced-degree holders.
"I would restrict it to those categories in particular," he told reporters after his speech, "because it's clear that those people are great job creators and we need them here."
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder: Immigration reform a federal issue worth talking about | MLive.com
