Last updated on: 9/2/2015 10:16:15 AM PST
Should Undocumented Immigrants in the United States Be Allowed to Become Legal Residents?
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"The American people support comprehensive immigration reform--not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it strengthens families, our economy, and our country. Congress must pass comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship, treats every person with dignity, upholds the rule of law, protects our borders and national security, and brings millions of hardworking people into the formal economy."
Source: "America Needs Comprehensive Immigration Reform with a Pathway to Citizenship," hillaryclinton.com (accessed Sep. 25, 2015)
Pro
"I think we should make it as easy as possible for somebody who wants to come into this country and work to get a work visa. I'm not talking about a green card. The solution is to create a moving line. Don't put the government in charge of quotas. There will either be jobs or there won't be jobs. And a work visa should include a background check and a Social Security card so that taxes get paid… Yes, there should be a pathway to citizenship, and there should be an embrace of immigration as something really good. They're not taking jobs that U.S. citizens want."
Source: Jim Malewitz, "Libertarian Eyes a Third-Party Presidential Chance," texastribune.org, Apr. 12, 2016
Pro
"Our nation of immigrants needs a just immigration system that won't allow the ruling elite to divide working people. That means halting deportations, passing the DREAM Act, and creating legal status and a path to citizenship for hard-working, law-abiding undocumented immigrants...
If we the American people want to fix the immigration crisis, our first step must be to stop our government from causing it."
Source: Jill Stein, "Obama: Stop Night Deportation Raids," jill2016.com (accessed Apr. 21, 2016)
|
Con (No)
Now Con
"Our message to the world will be this. You cannot obtain legal status or become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country. Can't do it.
This declaration alone will help stop the crisis of illegal crossings and illegal overstays, very importantly. People will know that you can't just smuggle in, hunker down and wait to be legalized. It's not going to work that way. Those days are over…
For those here illegally today, who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and one route only. To return home and apply for reentry like everybody else, under the rules of the new legal immigration system that I have outlined above."
Source: Los Angeles Times staff, “Transcript: Donald Trump's Full Immigration Speech, Annotated,” latimes.com, Sep. 1, 2016
[Editor's Note: Trump previously expressed a NOT CLEARLY PRO OR CON opinion, and a CON opinion on this question. Read Trump's former positions on a pathway to legalization]
|
|
FORMER CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear below in black and white and in alphabetical order.)
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"I believe that for those already in the country, we need to put in place a rigorous path that requires individuals to pass a thorough criminal background check, pay fines, pay taxes, learn English, obtain a provisional work permit and work, not receive federal government assistance, and over an extended period of time earn legal status. But any plan to address the status of illegal immigrants must be accompanied by a robust strategy to improve border security."
Source: Jeb Bush, "Jeb on Immigration," jeb2016.com, Aug. 5, 2015
Pro
"The flow of illegal immigration across our borders is a threat to both our economic and national security. We need a comprehensive plan to address this problem and it starts with securing our border. On the economic front, American workers, who are forced to pay taxes, are being cheated by illegal immigrants paid under the table. We should require illegal immigrants to register with the government to ensure they are paying taxes, learning English, undergoing background checks, and paying restitution for entering our nation illegally. Then, after living under our laws and our rules, we should require they wait for citizenship behind legal immigrants already in line. Finally, after going through this lengthy process -- including paying fines, paying taxes, learning English, and passing an American civics and assimilation exam -- which should take a decade or longer, an illegal immigrant could become a citizen, rather than remaining in the shadows and outside the arm of the law. Most important, we need presidential leadership on this issue to build consensus and craft solutions through constitutional means, not executive fiat."
Source: Lindsey Graham 2016, "Secure Our Future," www.lindseygraham.com (accessed Aug. 19, 2015)
Pro
"And could you imagine again what it would be like in a family of somebody who came here illegally but has been law abiding when they get the notice that they're going to have to leave and maybe leave their children here?
When you hear those things, I think somebody's got to stand up and call it out. I do think we need a fence. I think we need to control our border for sure. But if you're a law-abiding person that has lived here, we'll give you a path to legalization, not a path to citizenship. It is important that we control our border. We lock our doors so people don't wander into our homes.
The country has a right to control its border, too. To say we're going to pick 10 or 11 million people out and shove them out of here, do you remember after World War II when they imprisoned Japanese and what a dark spot, a dark stain on our history. The idea that we're just going to deport all of these people is not going to happen. And it's just not right.
So it may be appealing right off the bat for people who are frustrated about illegal immigration. And I am, too."
Source: CNN, "SMERCONISH: GOP Pres. Candidate John Kasich on CNBC Debate Controversy; GOP Candidates Bash Liberal Media; Political Battle Over Not Prosecuting Cosby; Surviving Politics, TV, and Addiction. Aired 9-10a ET," www.cnn.com, Oct. 31, 2015
Pro
"Comprehensive immigration reform means yes, sure, protecting our borders, protecting public safety but having a path to citizenship for all of those millions of our neighbors who have been caught in the switches. The pathway should be the ability to actually find the line that's actually a line and be able to become a citizen in fairly short order...
It is not only important for newly arriving American immigrants. It's important for all of us. Our fight for immigration reform is about bringing more of our neighbors out of the shadow economy and into the full light of an open and inclusive American economy."
Source: Hannah Fraser-Chanpong, "Martin O'Malley Promises to Expand Obama's Immigration Policies," cbsnews.com, July 14, 2015
Pro
"Let's start that conversation by acknowledging we aren't going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants. If you wish to work, if you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you...
My plan is very simple and will include work visas for those who are here, who are willing to come forward and work...
Imagine 12 million people who are already here coming out of the shadows to become new taxpayers.12 million more people assimilating into society. 12 million more people being productive contributors.
Conservatives, myself included, are wary of amnesty. My plan will not grant amnesty or move anyone to the front of the line. But what we have now is de facto amnesty.
The solution doesn't have to be amnesty or deportation - a middle ground might be called probation where those who came illegally become legal through a probationary period."
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Text of Rand Paul's Immigration Speech," wsj.com, Mar. 19, 2013
[Editor's Note: Rand Paul voted against the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, which included a path to legalization, and eventually citizenship, for immigrants who are currently in the United States illegally provided they met certain conditions.]
Pro
"If you are in the country for a decade or longer, have not otherwise violated our laws, you would have to come forward, undergo a criminal background check, obviously pass that. You would have to pay a fine for having broken our laws, you would have to start paying taxes, you would have to learn English, and in exchange for all of that, what you would get is the equivalent of a non-immigrant, non-permanent work visa to be in the U.S. And you would have to be in that status for a significant period of time, and at some point, if you choose, you could apply for permanent residency, but you’d have to do it through that modernized legal immigration system, and you’d have to do it just like everybody else. It’s not a special process or anything of that nature, and in the interim, you’d have that work status, if you choose."
Source: Joshua Pinho, "Rubio Lays out Plan for Addressing Undocumented Workers," thepulse2016.com, May 7, 2015
[Editor's Note: Marco Rubio voted in favor of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, which included a path to legalization, and eventually citizenship, for immigrants who are currently in the United States illegally provided they met certain conditions.]
Pro
"It is no great secret that across the United States undocumented workers perform a critical role in our economy. They harvest and process our food and it is no exaggeration to say that, with out them, food production in the United States would significantly decline. Undocumented workers build many of our homes, cook our meals, maintain our landscapes. We even entrust undocumented workers with that which we hold most dear – our children...
[I]t is time to end the discussion of mass deportation or self-deportation. We cannot and we should not even be talking about sweeping up millions of men, women, and children – many of whom have been here for years – and throwing them out of the country. That’s wrong and that type of discussion has got to end...
The bottom line of all of this is that it is time to bring our neighbors out of the shadows. It is time to give them legal status. It is time to create a reasonable and responsible path to citizenship."
Source: Bernie Sanders, "Prepared Remarks for National Association of Latino Elected Officials Conference," berniesanders.com, June 19, 2015
[Editor's Note: Bernie Sanders voted in favor of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, which included a path to legalization, and eventually citizenship, for immigrants who are currently in the United States illegally provided they met certain conditions.]
|
Con (No)
Con
"As long as we reward people who break laws, they will continue to break laws. We do need a continual flow of immigrants, but choosers need not be beggars. We make decisions based on our needs. People who refuse to comply with the rules must forfeit chances of legalization in the future. Anyone caught involved in voter fraud should be immediately deported and have his citizenship revoked. The point is this: We must create a system that disincentivizes illegal immigration and upholds the rule of law while providing us with a steady stream of immigrants from other nations who will strengthen our society. Let's solve the problem and stop playing political football."
Source: Ben Carson, "As Long as U.S. Leaders Game the Immigration System, Illegals Will, Too," www.washingtontimes.com, June 17, 2014
Now Con
"Megyn Kelly: On the subject of immigration, are you for a path to citizenship?
Chris Christie: I think that's an extreme way to go and I think that quite frankly what Hillary Clinton is doing right now is pandering. That's pandering... So no, I don't believe that's the way to go and I don't believe that's where people are...
Megan Kelly: So you say now that you are not for a path to citizenship, but back in 2010 you said on This Week that you were. What changed?
Chris Christie: I think I've learned over time about this issue and done a lot more work on it... What I'm saying now is that I think we've got to come up with a solution for it, but I think just immediately going to a path to citizenship as Hillary Clinton is proposing to do is just pandering, it's just politics."
Source: The Kelly File, Fox News, May 18, 2015
[Editor's Note: Christie previously expressed a PRO opinion on this question. Read Christie's former position on the legal residency for undocumented immigrants]
Con
"Look, I understand Marco [Rubio] wants to raise confusion, it is not accurate what he just said that I supported legalization [of immigrants who are in the country illegally]. Indeed, I led the fight against his legalization and amnesty...
I have never supported legalization, and I do not intend to support legalization. Let me tell you how you do this, what you do is you enforce the law...
We can enforce the laws and if we secure the border, that solves the problem. And as president I will solve this problem and secure the border."
Source: The Washington Post, "5th Republican Debate Transcript, Annotated: Who Said What and What It Meant," washingtonpost.com, Dec. 15, 2015
[Editor's Note: Ted Cruz voted against the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, which included a path to legalization, and eventually citizenship, for immigrants who are currently in the United States illegally provided they met certain conditions.]
Con
"In my view, we also have to fix the illegal immigration system, which has been broken for about 25 years now. Everyone talks about comprehensive solutions but nobody starts with the basics. My own view is, if you have come here illegally and stayed here illegally, that you don't get a path to citizenship...
I think legal status is a possibility, for sure. I think their children maybe can become citizens. But my own view is it isn't fair to say to people who have played by the rules -- and it takes a long time to play by the rules -- that, you know, it just doesn't matter."
Source: Morning Joe, MSNBC, June 15, 2015
|
Not Clearly Pro or Con
"America has an immigration crisis on its hands, and it's time for the federal government to do its job. Without a secure border, nothing matters.
We have drug cartels running reckless on our southern border, and the Washington establishment wants to reward illegal immigrants with amnesty and citizenship. As President, I will:
• Reject President Obama's unconstitutional executive orders.
• Oppose amnesty.
• Secure the border now.
If you reward people who play outside the rules and punish people who live within the rules, pretty soon nobody is going to play by the rules. We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws."
Source: Huckabee 2016, "Immigration & Border Security," www.mikehuckabee.com/border-security (accessed Aug. 19, 2015)
|
|
|
RECOMMENDED to you...
|
|
1
|
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
4
|
|
5
|
|
6
|
|
7
|
|
8
|
|
9
|
|
10
|
|
11
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
CITE THIS PAGE
Who is the author?
|
|
SHARE
|
|
