Assessing Overall Candidate Promises

EDITOR'S NOTE: All of a candidates' actions and promises on immigration are considered in these three overarching categories --

• what do you do with the 12-20 million illegal aliens already here;
• what do you do to stop future illegal immigration, and
• what do you do to protect American workers and communities from the current peak flood of foreign workers?

Amnesty & Attrition Through Enforcement

"Increased Prosecution. Deploy the additional assets outlined above to prosecute alien smugglers ("coyotes"), alien gang members, previously deported felons, and aliens who have repeatedly violated our immigration laws much more vigorously." October 23, 2007; Fred Thompson's Border Security and Immigration Reform Plan

Assessment of Past Immigration Actions
in Political Office

2000: Voted against an illegal immigration amnesty
Former Sen. Thompson voted against including an amnesty for illegal aliens from Central America in the Senate H-1B bill (S.2045). This was not necessarily a vote against the amnesty, but rather a vote against including it in the H-1B legislation. The move to attach the amnesty failed 43-55.  

Click here for more AMNESTY actions.

Assessing Specific Stances on LEGAL IMMIGRATION

EDITOR'S NOTE: Unless the following four categories of legal immigration are changed, current policies will add 100 million additional people to the United States over the next few decades.

Chain Migration

"I believe the concern should be chain migration. Right now, we have a situation where people can bring in spouses, children, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and so forth. I think that people should be able to serve as a basis for the bringing in of their spouses and of their children, but I do not think there should be endless chain migration." December 9, 2007; GOP Univision Debate

Visa Lottery

OFFICIAL STANCE on randomly raffling green cards to foreigners:

Citizenship for Births to ILLEGAL ALIENS

Assessing Specific Stances on ilLEGAL IMMIGRATION

EDITOR'S NOTE: Unless the following four categories of legal immigration are changed, current policies will add 100 million additional people to the United States over the next few decades.

MANDATORY WORKPLACE VERIFICATION

OFFICIAL STANCE on keeping illegal aliens from getting jobs:

PUNISHING EMPLOYERS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

OFFICIAL STANCE on punishing employers who hire illegal aliens: NONE

"[W]e've got to punish the employers who will not obey the law." December 3, 2007; Associated Content

"Republican Fred Thompson on Wednesday endorsed a tough immigration measure being pushed by Iowa Rep. Steve King that would punish companies that hire illegal immigrants. 'It is time for America to start enforcing immigration laws and stop giving businesses that hire illegal aliens a free pass,’’ Thompson said in a statement. 'Businesses who do not play by the rules should not be rewarded under our tax laws.' Under King’s measure King, businesses could not take a tax deduction for wages paid to an illegal immigrant, a step Thompson said he supported 'because it provides a disincentive to employers who hire undocumented workers.'" November 7, 2007; The Associated Press

LOCAL ENFORCEMENT of IMMIGRATION

OFFICIAL STANCE on empowering local enforcement of immigration laws: NONE

ENTRY/EXIT SYSTEM AT BORDERS

OFFICIAL STANCE on implementation of entry/exit system to reduce illegal aliens who overstay visas:

"We've go to strengthen the border, we've   got to enforce the border, we've got to punish the employers who will not obey   the law, and we've go to eliminate sanctuary cities and say to sanctuary cities   'If you continue this, we're going to cut off federal funding for you. You're   not going to do it with federal money.'" December 3, 2007; Associated Content

"'You've got to secure the border first, before you do anything,' he said. 'The members say it's right here in this bill: the border. The response is, 'We don't care what's on a piece of paper -- secure the border.' This piece of paper doesn't secure the border.' Mr. Thompson said the new bill is 'the same deal' offered in the 1986 amnesty -- legalization of illegal aliens in exchange for border security -- but said Americans won't be fooled again." June 3, 2007; The Washington Times



"'Twelve million illegal immigrants later, we are now living in a nation that is beset by people who are suicidal maniacs and want to kill countless innocent men, women and children around the world,' the former Tennessee senator said. 'We're sitting here now with essentially open borders.' He made the comments Thursday night as he discussed the 1986 immigration reform bill and the Senate's current legislation to overhaul the immigration system during a speech to people attending the annual Prescott Bush Awards Dinner in Stamford, Conn." May 25, 2007; The Associated Press

"[W]e've got to eliminate sanctuary cities and say to sanctuary cities 'If you continue this, we're going to cut off federal funding for you. You're not going to do it with federal money.'" December 3, 2007; Associated Content

"'I voted to do away with sanctuary cities,' said Thompson. He pointed to Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York. 'I don't know where [Giuliani] stands today on that. I know where he stood then,' Thompson said." October 18, 2007; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"More than 60 sanctuary zones, including 30 of America’s largest cities, provide a national networked haven for foreign and organized criminals who recruit and operate outside those areas as well. These sanctuaries include Cambridge, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Austin and Houston, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and New York City.

The consequences of 'sanctuary cities' may be most obvious in the city that became the first in 1979 — Los Angeles. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, a confidential California Department of Justice study from the mid-1990’s showed then that at least 60 percent of the members of L.A.’s most violent gangs, with membership in the tens of thousands, were illegal aliens. Of all outstanding murder warrants in Los Angeles, 95 percent are for illegal aliens. Frustrated police say they are powerless to pick up even well-known, previously deported felons.August 13, 2007; Fred08.com

Fred Thompson, former United States Senator, prosecutor and accomplished film and television actor, grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

Thompson attended Memphis State University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science. He went on to receive a law degree from Vanderbilt University. Two years later, Thompson was named an Assistant United States Attorney and later served as Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee. His experience with the Watergate scandal is detailed in his memoir, At That Point in Time. In 1994 Thompson was elected to the United States Senate. He was re-elected for a second term in 1996.

Thompson is also a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.

Thompson first appeared on screen in the film “Marie” in 1985, portraying himself in the fact-based story of a high-profile case he handled in Tennessee. Since then, he has appeared in numerous movies and television programs, including the features “In the Line of Fire,” “Die Hard II,” and “The Hunt for Red October,” and the series “China Beach,” “Wiseguy,” and “Matlock.”

Thompson lives in Nashville, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. with his wife Jeri. He has two sons, one daughter, and five grandchildren.