Thread: GOP Candidates John McCain, Mitt Romney Talk Immigration

GOP candidates John McCain, Mitt Romney talk immigration in Texas campaign swings

By: JOE STINEBAKER - Associated Press

HOUSTON -- Sen. John McCain challenged other Republican presidential candidates Tuesday to propose their own immigration legislation or stop criticizing the plan he's co-sponsoring.

Rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, kept up his criticism of the proposal, which could allow the legalization of most of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants while increasing border security.

"I think it's a matter of national security," McCain said, "and to do nothing -- to leave the status quo -- would be an abrogation of our responsibilities to the American people."

McCain, speaking amid a series of fundraisers in Houston, added, "If they've got another proposal that will pass the Congress of the United States, then let's hear that."

McCain's challenge came in response to the criticism of several GOP presidential contenders -- primarily Romney -- of the immigration bill as ineffective and a form of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Romney, in Dallas for fundraisers, said Tuesday the bill was "for all intents and purposes, amnesty."

The immigration bill calls for tightening border security, granting legal status to nearly all the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, and increasing penalties for employers who hire illegal workers.

It would create a point system for future immigration applicants that would place less emphasis on family connections and more on education and skills in demand by U.S. businesses.

"The idea of an amnesty-type provision is something I oppose and continue to oppose," Romney said.

McCain, an Arizona Republican, described the bill, drafted by a bipartisan group and backed by the White House, as the country's best hope to secure its borders from illegal immigration. McCain acknowledged that he had faced repeated questions about the legislation since arriving Monday night in Texas.

"I hope the American people can convince their senators that the status quo is totally unacceptable," he said. "They expect us to act. They expect us to be legislators."

Romney denied an earlier criticism from McCain that he had flip-flopped on immigration, saying that he had always favored a secure border, an employment verification system and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that does not give them advantages over those arriving legally.

McCain also responded to his opponents' questions about whether he ever employed illegal immigrants as landscapers or in other positions at his large homestead in Arizona.

"No, we did not hire anyone who was in this country illegally, and we made sure we didn't. And you might go back to my opponent's camp and (tell them) we've moved," he joked. "We now live in a condominium, OK? Duh."

McCain got the questions after a jab at Romney on Monday. McCain said Romney's solution to illegal immigration might be "to get out his small varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn" -- a reference to reports that several illegal immigrants, including at least one from Guatemala, worked on Romney's two-and-a-half acre property in a Boston suburb for a decade. Romney's aides have said that Romney was not aware of the workers' status, and that the owner of the lawn care company was in the country legally.

"I have respect for Senator McCain, and I guess it just shows that even when he's wrong, he's amusing," Romney said on Tuesday.

Associated Press writer Jeff Carlton in Dallas contributed to this report.

http://nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/23/ ... df3c7b6683

Comments On This Story

Note: Comments reflect the views of readers and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff.

Skip wrote on May 22, 2007 8:09 PM: " WHAT TTHEY DON'T TELL YOU : They don't mention a proposal that would force taxpayers for the first time ever to pay for the lawyers for illegal aliens and take legal services away from America's poor. The bill would give illegal aliens priority over Americans in poverty. All background checks on those applying for amnesty must be completed within 24 hours. If an illegal alien is arrested in an enforcement raid and might be eligible for amnesty, the government must provide help in applying for the Z visa and release the illegal alien. Another unnoticed provision? The bill would change the law and reduce the southern border fencing project from 854 miles, to 370 miles, to only 200 miles. And don't forget, Illegal Aliens considered for Legal status will have all back taxes forgiven. "

McCain's Mexican Meltdown wrote on May 22, 2007 8:13 PM: " Ignoring Existing Immigration Laws ! McCain should run for president of Mexico, not America. What a traitor. I have good news for you, senator! There is a solution in place. Best of all it does not need to pass the Congress of the United States, or be approved by the president. It's called the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. "

Add Your Comments or Letter to the Editor

http://nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/23/ ... df3c7b6683

Romney denied an earlier criticism from McCain that he had flip-flopped on immigration, saying that he had always favored a secure border, an employment verification system and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that does not give them advantages over those arriving legally.

Sounds like doublespeak to me. Anytime you put an illegal on a path to legalization you're giving them an advantage over the millions that would like to come here legally. The first thing Romney probably does every morning is stick his thumb in the air to test the direction of the wind.

Hunter in 2008!

Originally Posted by MW

Romney denied an earlier criticism from McCain that he had flip-flopped on immigration, saying that he had always favored a secure border, an employment verification system and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that does not give them advantages over those arriving legally.

Sounds like doublespeak to me. Anytime you put an illegal on a path to legalization you're giving them an advantage over the millions that would like to come here legally. The first thing Romney probably does every morning is stick his thumb in the air to test the direction of the wind.

Hunter in 2008!

Yeah, I don't get their position. If they don't want them to have advantage over those that come legally, then send them back and let them get in line......That is the only "path-way" that doesn't give them that advantage

Won't vote for either one of these...McCain is done...he's just to dumb to realize it! He will...soon enough!