Sen. Mel Martinez: ‘I Do Not Support Amnesty’

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007 10:28 a.m. EST

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., said he is not worried about opposition within the GOP to President Bush’s illegal immigration policy, saying the debate is healthy as long as a solution is achieved.

Martinez, appearing Wednesday on Fox News Channel, said the most important thing is to secure the U.S. borders.

"I do not support amnesty,” Martinez said. "The first thing we have to do is get the border right. We have to have stronger border security, but it’s important to find a way to have a guest-worker program to take the pressure off the border and do something about the 12 million immigrants who are here.”

The Cuba-born Martinez, who was recently elected general chairman of the Republican National Committee, said some of his GOP colleagues are unreasonable when they call for mass deportation of illegals already in the United States.

"How do you deport 12 million Americans?” he asked. "It’s not realistic. They will all become Americans, they will all contribute to our economy. We need to work together to make this happen.

"I’m working with other Republicans on this. We may not see eye to eye, but we are working together,” he said.

Beyond the immigration issue, Martinez said the Republicans should receive more credit for the success of the U.S. economy, which President Bush has been promoting in speeches this week.

"The good news of the economy doesn’t get talked about enough,” he said. "We’ve had tremendous job growth for 42 straight months. There’s a lot of good to talk about.

"We need to talk about the economy because it is important to America’s families,” Martinez continued. "Nearly 4 1/2 percent unemployment means more Americans are working. Wages are up. That’s good news for American families.”

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007 ... html?s=icp