Immigration
See other Immigration ArticlesTitle: (Tancredo's Boy) Romney Would Allow Illegals to Stay for Unspecified Time
Source:
CNSN
URL Source: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics ... chive/200712/POL20071221a.html
Published: Dec 21, 2007
Author: Fred Lucas
Post Date: 2007-12-22 16:46:09 by _______
Keywords: Romney, RINO, Tancredo
Views: 149
Comments: 5
(CNSNews.com) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, would allow illegal aliens to apply for permanent residency but would also require them to go back home after a "set period" of time, he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" last Sunday.
After four days of questioning from Cybercast News Service, however, the Romney campaign was unable to specify how long that "set period" would be.
On "Meet the Press" Romney said: "Well, whether they go home - they should go home eventually. There's a set period - in my view they should have a set period during which period they, they sign up for application for permanent residency or for citizenship. But there is a set period whereupon they should return home."
In light of these comments, border security advocates have questioned whether there is a difference between the application for permanent residency Romney suggests and the "pathway-to-citizenship," which he has staunchly opposed.
"It sounds like he wasn't really sure," John Vinson, president of Americans for Immigration Control (AIC), told Cybercast News Service. "It's just as clear as mud what he believes about illegal immigration."
Among questions submitted to Romney's campaign by Cybercast News Service on Monday morning was one that asked how long the "set period" would be that Romney envisions in which illegal aliens would be allowed to stay in the country.
The Romney campaign responded to other questions about his immigration position submitted by Cybercast News Service but not that one. Asked again by Cybercast News Service to answer the question on Thursday, the Romney campaign did not respond.
During the "Meet the Press" interview on Sunday, Romney did not waver from his comments in a November 2005 interview with The Boston Globe, in which he called the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill supported by President Bush a "reasonable proposal" that was "quite different" from amnesty - a charge leveled by critics of the bill.
In 2007, Romney strongly criticized a similar bill for "comprehensive immigration reform" that died in the Senate. Romney also told the Globe in 2005 that he had not formulated his own proposal.
During the "Meet the Press" interview, Romney said, "Those people who had come here illegally - should be able to stay, sign up for permanent residency or citizenship - but they should not be given a special pathway, a special guarantee that all of them get to stay here for the rest of their lives merely by virtue of having come here illegally."
Romney campaign spokesman Matt Rhoades told Cybercast News Service in a written response Tuesday afternoon that, "Gov. Romney has consistently opposed amnesty or any special path to citizenship or permanent residence for those here illegally."
"To become eligible for permanent residence, he believes they should get at the end of the line with the millions of people who have applied to legally come to the U.S.," Rhoades continued.
Rhoades' answers, however, did not specify whether Romney envisioned the illegal aliens 'getting in line" inside the United States or outside the United States. Rhoades further said Romney never changed his position on the Senate proposals for a pathway to citizenship.
"Gov. Mitt Romney has not changed his position and believes the U.S. Senate agreement on immigration reform was 'the wrong approach' and a 'form of amnesty,'" Rhoades added.
Vinson, whose group advocates stricter immigration laws and tougher enforcement of the borders, sees little difference in Romney's view of providing permanent residency and creating a pathway to citizenship.
"He said the amnesty bill is reasonable, but he didn't agree, or I can't tell what the man is saying," Vinson said. "People are going to question what he thinks, if indeed he knows what he thinks. It's a cut-and-dry issue. You either let them stay or encourage them to go back home."
Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a pro-border enforcement group, did not criticize Romney or any other presidential candidate, but Mehlman said he was against any permanent residency program.
"If you're here illegally, there should be no option for getting legal authorization," Mehlman said in an interview.
Mehlman also said he was disturbed at the idea of calling the 2005 bill a "reasonable" plan and that it is not "amnesty."
"Our view has always been that McCain-Kennedy and the so-called comprehensive immigration bill were amnesty," Mehlman said.
Rhoades defended Romney on this point as well.
"Gov. Romney opposed each version of the McCain-Kennedy legislation as the wrong approach and a form of amnesty," he said. "He believes amnesty did not work 20 years ago and it will not work today."
Just before leaving the governor's office in December 2006 to campaign full-time, Romney signed a memorandum of agreement with federal officials to allow Massachusetts State Troopers to enforce immigration laws. He also opposed granting driver's license and in-state tuition to illegal aliens.
Still, Romney's "Meet the Press" interview sparked criticism from conservative commentator Michelle Malkin and The American Spectator, a conservative magazine.
They accused the Republican presidential candidate of giving "Clintonian" answers to the questions about immigration and gun control.
Campaign officials also admitted Monday that Romney inaccurately said during the NBC interview that the National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed his campaign for governor in 2002 when, in fact, his Democratic opponent had a higher score with the Second Amendment group.
Throughout his campaign Romney has been dogged for being a "flip-flopper," because as a candidate in Massachusetts he was pro-abortion, pro-gun control, and pro-homosexual rights but moved to the right on all three issues after entering the GOP presidential primary.
Other Republican candidates have stumbled on the immigration issue in the eyes of conservative voters. Arizona Sen. John McCain strongly supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has faced scrutiny for supporting New York City's "sanctuary city" policy that prohibits police officers from enforcing federal immigration laws. More recently, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has been criticized for supporting in-state tuition for children of illegal aliens in his home state.
Romney's Web site calls for "implementing an enforceable Employee Verification System. Issue biometrically-enabled and tamperproof card to non-citizens and create a national database for non-citizens so employers can easily verify their legal status."
However, a similar system already exists. (See Related Story)
The Romney Web site goes on to say his policy would "not give amnesty or any special pathway to those who have come to this country illegally." It also calls for following through on the congressionally authorized fence along the Mexican border, withholding federal funds from "sanctuary cities," cracking down on employers of illegal aliens, and encouraging legal immigration. Click for Full Text!
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