Thread: Thompson: Immigration stance defines me

Thompson: Immigration stance defines me

By THOMAS BEAUMONT
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
October 27, 2007
http://desmoinesregister.com



Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson today discussed his new immigration proposal which, he said, distinguished him from his key rivals on the hot-button issue.

?This does draw a distinction between myself and others,? Thompson said in a Des Moines Register interview before attending the Iowa GOP?s annual Ronald Reagan dinner in Des Moines.

Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, said he would end the policy of sanctuary cities, where illegal immigrants can obtain government benefits without fear of deportation.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who also is seeking the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, has been criticized by some Republican candidates for New York?s status as such a city during Giuliani?s term in office.

Thompson also appeared to be subtly criticizing GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has been critical of bipartisan legislation in Congress to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country. But Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has not proposed an immigration plan.

And his promise to allow no amnesty was a shot at Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate who led the failed effort on the bipartisan bill last year.

Thompson?s plan also would double the number of immigration agents, increase border patrols to 25,000, prosecute illegal workers and their employers, and make English the official language of the United States.

?It?s strong on enforcement and it basically addresses what needs to be our commitment and that is to secure the borders and enforce the law,? Thompson said.

Iowa Republicans rate immigration as a top priority. A Des Moines Register poll in May showed 27 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers considered immigration extremely important, closely behind the war in Iraq. Fighting terrorism and values were the only two issues to rank higher.

Thompson had previously said rounding up the estimated 12 million people in the country illegally was unrealistic. He said Saturday the number could shrink quickly through enforcement of existing law.

?I think that we would have attrition if we had enforcement,? he said. Over a period of time, we would begin to see the system rectify itself.

But are these just campaign promises?

Dixie

But are these just campaign promises?

Even if they are just campaign promises, every time a top tier candidate talks about immigration it helps our cause because it draws national attention. Tom is my choice in the race thus far but if it comes down to a choice between Fred and Hillary I would go with Fred.

I earnestly hope that our future president has not yet entered the race. At this point, there is not a candidate among them that I can fully support.

I didn't see any mention of securing the borders. How good is it to enforce the laws and deport illegals if they can just walk right back in across an undefended border?

Here is what we need:
http://www.alipac.us/article1111-thread-1-0.html

Nouveauxpoor wrote:

I earnestly hope that our future president has not yet entered the race. At this point, there is not a candidate among them that I can fully support.

I think Duncan Hunter is a fantastic candidate, but then that's just me.......

Originally Posted by Bulldogger

But are these just campaign promises?

Even if they are just campaign promises, every time a top tier candidate talks about immigration it helps our cause because it draws national attention. Tom is my choice in the race thus far but if it comes down to a choice between Fred and Hillary I would go with Fred.

Bulldogger, Fred is also a CFR member, and the last thing we need is another CFR member pushing their global agenda. Plus, his immigration report card is pretty bad. I personally don't believe Fred would do much more about illegal immigration than mclamebrain, romney, boosh or the dems.

http://grades.betterimmigration.com/tes ... &retired=1

MW: After reading you touting Hunter I did some reading up on him and agree that he is a very good candidate, but my question to you is, since it is this late in the election cycle do you really believe that Hunter will stay in the race through all of the primaries? We are getting ever closer to the Iowa/NH primaries and Mr Hunter just isn't attracting much of a following.

Originally Posted by sippy

Originally Posted by Bulldogger

But are these just campaign promises?

Even if they are just campaign promises, every time a top tier candidate talks about immigration it helps our cause because it draws national attention. Tom is my choice in the race thus far but if it comes down to a choice between Fred and Hillary I would go with Fred.

Bulldogger, Fred is also a CFR member, and the last thing we need is another CFR member pushing their global agenda. Plus, his immigration report card is pretty bad. I personally don't believe Fred would do much more about illegal immigration than mclamebrain, romney, boosh or the dems.

http://grades.betterimmigration.com/tes ... &retired=1

Hes geting robbed on those grades that has changed for the worse sence the last time it was posted and thats only been about a week !

Immigration will play a very important role in the coming election. Some elect wanta-bes are starting to see this and take an active stance. The Dems have already committed to full amnesty so there is no turning back for them. There will be more attention payed to immigration as time nears to election.