Are you in favor of a fence?
- Greta Van Sustern: And you are in favor of a fence, Governor.: Yes, I would like a fence, and I'd like to also make sure that we have an employment verification system so that we know who's here legally and who's not, who is able to work and who's not. And then we say to employers, here is this great system. You have a card that you can look at when people apply for a job. You put it in the computer database. It tells you if they are here legally, if they can work.
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: Yes, but it's 800,000 or so a year that come in illegally. They keep on pouring in and pouring in, and we have some that go back as well.
- Greta Van Sustern: Is it too late — I mean, a lot of people get the sense — that I talk to — that it's too late. We've got 12 million people here who may be illegal.
So stop the flow of those that come here illegally, and do that with a fence and an employment system, so we know who is legal and who is not.
And once you take away the magnet of jobs here, people aren't going to come across the border unless they can get a legal and valid visa. And that's, of course, beneficial to the country. We love legal immigration. We just want to stop illegal immigration.
- Greta Van Sustern: When you talk to families, what do you hear, from middle America, what concerns them the most?: Well, that's, of course, one of the top issues that people speak about. But there is also a concern about schools, about health care. And I think underlying most people in America today is a concern about this jihad. We call it the war on terror, but it's the idea that there are radical Muslims, who have as their intent the collapse of all moderate Islamic states and the collapse of the West as well. And they attacked us once, they attacked us more than once. They are trying to do it again. And they want to make sure that their homeland is safe and their children and grandchildren will be safe. And it's going to take some real effort to make sure that's the case.
- Greta Van Sustern**: Let's take each one by one. Let's start with health care. A lot of Americans don't have health insurance. What's the plan if you are president?
Governor Mitt Romney and Immigration
2003
- 05-01-2003, Romney vows to protect English Immersion law
2005
- 01-28-2005, Romney expands adult basic education for immigrants
2006
- 12-13-2006, Agreement permits specially trained State Troopers to enforce federal immigration law
Immigration Questions for Governor Mitt Romney
- Are you in favor of a fence? Greta Van Sustern
- Do you support a tamper-proof work status ID card? 1st Debate
- Governor Romney, you have also called Senator McCain's immigration plan amnesty. Are you prepared to say that sharing the stage with him tonight? And how do you explain your statement to the Lowell Sun last year in which you said, quote, 'Those that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process toward application for citizenship as they would from their home country.' Why isn't that amnesty as well, sir? ‘‘(2nd Debate)’’