Christie working on immigration plan
August 02, 2015, 10:00 am
By Kristina Wong
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Sunday he is still deciding what he would do with 11 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S. if he wins the presidency.
"I don't know," Christie said when asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” if he would allow them legal status, addressing one of the top issues in the 2016 presidential race.
"Not yet, but I will," he added.
He said currently, there are "not enough law enforcement officers to forcibly deport 11 million people."
He also said he would increase the number of law enforcement to be able to deport them, but stopped short of saying he would do so as president.
As far as preventing more undocumented workers from immigrating to the U.S., he said he would seek a solution using E-Verify, a system used to register and monitor the work status of undocumented workers.
"If folks knew they would not get jobs, they would not come," he said.
Christie also said he favored defunding Planned Parenthood, after videos surfaced showing employees discussing harvesting fetus organs.
He also said he has changed his stance on gun control from 20 years ago, when he first entered politics, saying he has "learned a lot," and touting his veto of rifle bans.
"I'm a law enforcement guy," he said. "Public safety is paramount."
Christie refrained from saying there is a problem with police and African-American citizens, but said, "There's a problem across the country with our police force and our citizens."
He called for a more "constructive" relationship, and said there needed to be teaching of both the community and the police force on how to interact.
"There is still a lot of racism in our country," he acknowledged.
"We still have a lot of work to do," he said.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...migration-plan
