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.