by Charlie Spiering 14 Oct 2014, 8:44 AM PDT
breitbart



The South Dakota “Independent” candidate for Senate Larry Pressler is campaigning on the importance of embracing illegal immigrants in America.

“We have got to move towards immigration reform, we have to throw our arms around those Mexican Americans that are here, and give them a path to citizenship,” he explained during a Sioux Falls Rotary forum on Monday.

Pressler is challenging Democratic candidate Rick Weiland and former Republican South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds for the Senate seat held by Democratic Senator Tim Johnson.

Rounds indicated that the United States should provide legal status for millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the United States and pay taxes so long as they went to the “back of the line.”

“If you like 12 million people over here without documents, illegally, fine, I don’t, I think we have to address that.” he said.

Rounds is currently leading the Senate race, but facing a closer than expected challenge by Pressler and Weiland, prompting both Republicans and Democrats to increase spending in the state.

Rounds explained that first, the federal government had to secure the border, because members of Congress wouldn’t support legislation to reform immigration without knowing that the border was secure.

“Once you’ve done that, then the folks right now that are here without documentation, I don’t want to tear them out, what I want to do is have them identify themselves, leave them here, make them start paying taxes but allow them time to get into the back of the line, and allow them to get in,” Rounds explained. “Don’t give them amnesty, but do provide that they can get back into the line with everyone else who wants to come to America.”

Rounds called for Congress to find ways “to bring individuals to this country that we need for those jobs that we have in demand,” but said that it would have to be for the “betterment of our country.”

“Isn’t it great that we’ve got a country where we are trying to keep people out rather than keeping people in?” he asked.

Weiland hailed the Senate’s bipartisan immigration reform bill passed in 2013, and urged Republicans in the House to bring the bill to the floor.

“We are all members of families who came over here from another country not that long ago,” said Weiland, adding that it was time to “embrace this and move on.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...gal-Immigrants