OFFICIAL STANCE on Amnesty/Legalization for illegal aliens and on Attrition Through Enforcement that pushes illegal aliens to go back home
"Governor Romney opposes amnesty or any special path to citizenship for those here illegally. He opposed each version of the McCain-Kennedy legislation as the wrong approach and a form of amnesty. Amnesty did not work 20 years ago, and it will not work today" November 9, 2007; MittRomney.com press release

The following is an excerpt from the January 30, 2008 Republican debate at the Reagan Library in California:

VANDEHEI: Governor Romney, I interviewed you in New Hampshire a couple of weeks ago and we talked a little bit about illegal immigration. You've taken a very hard stance against illegal immigration. You said at the time that you felt that there's, for a lot of illegal immigrants who are here, under your plan, we could deport many of them within 90 days. How could that happen? How could we do it that quickly?

ROMNEY: I think you may be confusing me with somebody else, but perhaps not. Let me tell you what my plan is.

VANDEHEI: At the time -- I can just give you the quote if you like. You said that "many of those could be deported immediately," but that would allow slower deportation process for those with thought as quickly as 90 days.

ROMNEY: My plan is this, which is for those that have come here illegally and are here illegally today, no amnesty.

Now, how do people return home? Under the ideal setting, at least in my view, you say to those who have just come in recently, we're going to send you back home immediately, we're not going to let you stay here. You just go back home.

For those that have been here, let's say, five years, and have kids in school, you allow kids to complete the school year, you allow people to make their arrangements, and allow them to return back home.

Those that have been here a long time, with kids that have responsibilities here and so forth, you let stay enough time to organize their affairs and go home.

But the key is this: These individuals are free to get in line with everyone else that wants to become a permanent resident or citizen. But no special pathway, no special deal that says because you're here illegally, you get to stay here for the rest of your life.

And that's what I found to be so offensive with the Z visa, which was in the McCain-Kennedy bill. It said to all illegal aliens, unless you're a criminal, you're all allowed to stay here for $3,000 for the rest of your life. And that's a mistake.

In my view, let us have a fixed period of time -- 90 days for some, depending on their circumstances, others longer, to the end of the school year -- even longer potentially. Do it in a humane and compassionate way, but say to those who have come here legally, you must return home, you must get in line with everybody else that wants to come here.

There are millions throughout the world who want to come to this country legally. It's a wonderful privilege. But those that have come here illegally should not be given a better deal.

I was just at the swearing in of some 700 citizens just a day or two ago in Tampa, Florida, and it was a thrilling thing to see these folks coming out, shaking their hands. People who come here legally are a great source of vitality and strength for our country.

COOPER: Let's follow up...

ROMNEY: But illegal immigration, that's got to end.

"During a Ledger interview he again mentioned that patriotism as it relates to illegal immigration and the need to protect the nation's borders. His plan for legal immigration still didn't meet what the citrus growers want to see in a guest worker program.

'The first thing we must do,' he said, 'is secure our borders and develop a system to make certain employers hire workers here legally. Once that is determined we can look for legal immigration through perhaps a reduced visa that we can adjust for the industry, whether it be agriculture or others.'

But what about the illegal immigrants already here, he was asked.

'We should set a time for them to return home to apply for entry, but not a special pathway,' he said." January 27, 2008; The Ledger (Fla.)

MODERATOR: Gov. Romney, I'm not sure I heard how the senator (McCain) would remove the 12 million people here illegally. You called his plan a form of amnesty. What's yours? And how would it encourage illegals to come out of the shadows, sir?
 
GOV. ROMNEY: I didn't hear that answer, either. And I'd also tell you that all of us on this stage agree -- I believe, I don't know about Ron Paul, but I think everybody else agrees -- I just haven't heard your position; I don't mean to be critical -- that we secure the border, we have the fence, and we have enough Border Patrol agents to secure the border, and that we have an employment verification system of some kind. But the place of difference between us is what we do with the 12 million people who are here illegally. We all agree that anybody who's committed a crime should be sent home. But I believe that the others who've come here illegally should stand in line with everybody else who wants to come to this country and should not be given a special pathway or a special privilege... (APPLAUSE)... to be able to stay in this country. And that means that those that are here illegally today would be looked at person by person, given a specific time period by which they arrange their affairs, they stay here during that time period. When that time period is over, they go home, and they get in line with everybody else.There are millions of people around the world who want to come here. We'll do this in a humane and generous way, but we're not going to say to people who've come here illegally, "You have a special pathway, a special privilege to become a permanent resident or a citizen." Get in line with everybody else.
Transcript of Republican Presidential Debate on Fox News Channel, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Jan. 10, 2008

Before Rep. Tom Tancredo gave his endorsement to Gov. Romney in Iowa on Dec. 20, 2007, the two met for nearly two hours. The main topic of the conversation was Romney's confusing comments about amnesty in an interview with Tim Russert on Dec. 16. Tancredo, the congressional champion against illegal immigration and amnesty, had admired Romney's aggressive engagement with immigration issues throughout the campaign, including advertising against amnesty and raising the issues routinely in debates. But the recent comments to Russert had sounded like Romney was leaving room for some kind of amnesty for a significant number of illegal aliens in the future.

Tancredo told Romney that there was no way he could endorse him unless he could satisfactorily explain those comments he'd made to Russert, especially the talk about illegal aliens "staying." Romney explained that he envisioned giving ID cards to illegal aliens who stepped forward and signed up so that they could remain in the country several months or maybe a year to get their affairs in order before moving themselves and their families back to their home countries. Tancredo said that wouldn't necessarily be something he would suggest but felt such a transition phase didn't constitute amnesty and wouldn't violate a no-amnesty pledge. Once Romney gave his word that his Administration would use Attrition Through Enforcement to cause all illegal aliens to go home, with no special pathway back to the U.S., Tancredo offered his endorsement.

-- Rep. Tancredo's account of his meeting with Gov. Romney, as told to NumbersUSA Founder & CEO Roy Beck on Dec. 29, 2007

"MR. RUSSERT: The Lowell Sun, your home--one of your hometown, state home papers, said this. "Governor Mitt Romney expressed support for an immigration program that places large numbers of illegal residents on the path toward citizenship."

GOV. ROMNEY: "My own view is consistent with what you saw in the Lowell Sun, that those people who had come here illegally and are in this country--the 12 million or so that are 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 say here for the rest of their lives merely by virtue of having come here illegally.  And that, I think, is the great flaw in the final bill that came forward from the Senate."

MR. RUSSERT:  But they shouldn't have to go home?

GOV. ROMNEY:  Well, whether they go home--they should go home eventually. There's a set per--in my view they should be--they should have a set period during which period they, they sign up for application for permanent residency or, or for citizenship.  But there's a set period where upon they should return home.  And if they've been approved for citizenship or for a permanent residency, well, thy would be a different matter.  But for the great majority, they'll be going home.

MR. RUSSERT:  The children they had born here are U.S. citizens, so do the children stay here and the parents go home?

GOV. ROMNEY:  Well, that's a choice, of course, the parents would, would make.  But my view is that those 12 million who've come here illegally should be given the opportunity to sign up to stay here, but they should not be given any advantage in becoming a permanent resident or citizen by virtue of simply coming here illegally.  And likewise, if they've brought a child to this country or they've had a child in this country, that's, that's wonderful that they're growing their families, but that doesn't mean that they all get to stay here indefinitely.  We're fundamentally a nation of laws.  And let me underscore something here that I think's awfully important, because this immigration debate can sound anti-immigrant to a lot of people.  It's not intended to be that by myself or, I believe, by the vast majority of others that talk about it.  We value legal immigration.  We welcome people coming here with different cultures and skill and education, but we are a nation of laws.  And our freedoms and our liberty are associated with following the law. We have to secure our border, we have to make sure there's an employment verification system to identify who's here legally and who's not.  And then for the 12 million who've come here, welcome them to get in line with everybody else, but no special pathway. December 16, 2007; MSNBC Interview

"Those who have come illegally, in my view, should be given the opportunity to get in line with everybody else, but there should be no special pathway for those that have come here illegally to jump ahead of the line or to be come permanent residents or citizens. They should be treated like everybody else who wants to come to this country." December 9, 2007; GOP Univision Debate

The following is an excerpt from the November 21, 2007 Human Events interview with Mitt Romney:

HUMAN EVENTS EDITOR Jed Babbin (JB): What would you do, in terms of the 12 to 20 million people who are here? Do they earn citizenship? Do they just get guest worker status? How would you handle that seemingly intractable problem?

ROMNEY: Well, the principle for me is this one: that is that those that are here illegally should be allowed to apply for permanent residency, a green card, or citizenship just like anybody else. Get in line with everybody else. No special pathway by virtue of their having come here illegally. And I think that was the major problem, of course, in the Senate bill, and the reason the entire nation stood up and opposed it. And that was that everybody who was here illegally was given a special pathway to permanent residency. They paid their $5,000, they got to stay here forever, and that was what was wrong. Had they said, “Look, that Z visa is going to be a temporary phenomenon. People will have it for some period of time to arrange their affairs, to get in line whatever,” that would have been a far more acceptable bill. But an amnesty-type program:  I know that there are some, like Senator McCain, that point out that they had to pay a tax, that’s not technically amnesty. Well maybe he’s technically right, but for all intents and purposes, it is a form of amnesty to allow everybody who’s come here illegally to stay here forever.

JB: So let me just be very clear, then. You would oppose a path to citizenship for people who did not otherwise get right with the law or stand in line like legal immigrants? Is that fair?

ROMNEY: Yeah, I… let me just restate mine, because I think what you said is spot on, but -- what I would say is: to those who are here illegally, you are welcome to get in line with everybody else, but there will be no pathway, no special treatment, for those that have come here illegally to allow them to stay here permanently or to become citizens. They would be treated like everybody else.

"Governor Romney opposes amnesty or any special path to citizenship for those here illegally. He opposed each version of the McCain-Kennedy legislation as the wrong approach and a form of amnesty. Amnesty did not work 20 years ago, and it will not work today" November 9, 2007; Romney Campaign Press Release on Immigration

"Illegal immigration has got to end and any form of citizenship amnesty is troublesome." September 13, 2007; Midland Reporter-Telegram (Texas)

"Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney advocated a policy of attrition to deal with the more than 12 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally, insisting that they can be slowly repatriated simply by enforcing current law or changing provisions of a controversial bipartisan plan pending in the Senate.Romney said he had no desire to 'round them up as one big group' and send illegal immigrants back to their native countries. Instead, he said the idea is 'to take people who are here today and working here and replace them gradually and humanely with our own citizens as well as with legal immigrants who come in to take their place...'" June 6, 2007; The Washington Post


"When a Lakeland Ledger reporter asked him about immigration in an interview, Romney said he was 'not really trying to define what is technically amnesty.' He added, 'I'll let the lawyers do that.' However, just days before in South Carolina, Romney said that McCain's proposed 'Z visa' should be called an 'A visa' -- 'because it's amnesty and that's what it stands for ... Asked if Romney is going to put out a detailed immigration plan, his spokesman, Kevin Madden, said Romney 'has made his immigration priorities clear: Secure the borders, implement an employee verification program with a tamper-proof biometric card, and no special pathway towards citizenship for those who broke immigration laws.'" June 1, 2007; Boston Globe



"The idea of an amnesty-type provision is something I oppose and continue to oppose." May 23, 2007; Newsmax.com



"I strongly oppose today's bill going through the Senate. It is the wrong approach. Any legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country indefinitely, as the new 'Z-Visa' does, is a form of amnesty. That is unfair to the millions of people who have applied to legally immigrate to the U.S." May 17, 2007; MittRomney.com



"My view, you have to secure the border, number one, have an employment verification system, number two, and number three, say to those that are there illegally, get in line with everybody else; you're not going to have a special doorway, any particular advantage, by having come here illegally, to become a permanent resident." May 15, 2007; The New York Times

"Romney, asked about his 2005 statement characterizing McCain's legislative efforts as 'reasonable proposals,' insisted his views have not changed over the years. 'I said all the proposals are reasonable. (McCain's) is a reasonable proposal, I just don't agree with it,' he said. 'And technically, it's not literally amnesty, because all of the people are not made citizens. But I think some people have begun to call it 'amnesty-lite.' The former governor said that 'I don't believe we're going to round up the 12 or 20 million people and deport them ... I do believe we need to have the people who are here as aliens register, so we know how many there are and what category, so we can take action based on that information.' Saying he is 'not in favor of widespread roundups,' Romney said he believes 'states should be doing what we're doing in our state, which is seeking to empower the state police to detain those who are here illegally if they are found in the regular course of business.''' March 17, 2007; San Francisco Chronicle



Mitt Romney rejects Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) proposal to offer different classifications of illegal immigrants varying pathways to legal residency:

"'I don't agree with it. I think it's the wrong course,' Romney said. 'I do not believe amnesty is the right course for the 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants who are living here. It didn't work in the 1980s. It's not going to work in the 2000s either.'" March 2, 2007; The Associated Press

"The current system puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically-enabled and tamperproof documentation and employment-verification system, and increase legal immigration into America." July 11, 2007; MittRomney.com



"I'm not looking to reduce the number of immigrants that come to our country or reduce the number of immigrants who are in our country." 06/28/2007; The Associated Press



"I love immigration. I love legal immigrants coming into our country ... My guess is everybody in this room is a descendant of an immigrant or an immigrant himself. So we love immigration as Americans. Immigration brings us education, new cultures, ideas, innovative talent. It's wonderful to have legal immigration. I don't like illegal immigration." February 8, 2007; Radio Iowa News

The following is an excerpt from an interview conducted by TechCrunch.com's Michael Arrington (MA) and published on November 1, 2007:

MA: I didn’t think of it that way, that’s interesting. Let’s jump into visas, probably the most politically, one of the most sensitive issues in Silicon Valley at least. The H1B in particular, allows US employers to temporarily seek help from skilled foreigners, they have to have the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree to qualify. We used to give, in the late 90s, 100-150k a year, there’s at least demand for 200k a year. In the last couple of years, the US quota for that has been brought down to 65k, and that was last year and this year. A lot of Silicon Valley startups and large companies in particular are saying it’s really hurting them with their hiring. Proponents of the program say it helps U.S. businesses stay competitive and it helps avoid outsourcing. It also brings some of the worlds best and brightest to the U.S. Quite a few of the most successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley started off as H1B visa holders. The other side says it can take jobs away from US citizens and lowers wages. What’s your position on H1B in general?

MR: I like H1B visas. I like the idea of the best and brightest in the world coming here. I’d rather have them come here permanently rather than come and go, but I believe our visa program is designed to help us solve gaps in our employment pool. Where there are individuals who have skills that we do not have in abundance here, I’d like to bring them here and contribute to our economy. Ultimately we’re in a competitive battle with the rest of the world; a battle where we need to stay the most powerful nation in the world. And the only way our nation stays ahead forever is with superior technology and innovation. And if we need additional folks who have skills that can contribute to our country then by all means lets welcome them in and if we see that our kids are not competing in certain areas lets help our kinds understand what they need to become competitive.

MA: Do you think the quota should be increased? Do you think their should be no quota? Should we let in everyone that is qualified?

MR: I would like to see us increase the number of people who receive an H1B visa and can provide skills and experience that we may not have. As to the exact number in my view that would follow a review of a number of things. Number 1: What’s the overall economy doing? What’s happening to the size of our workforce. Number 2: What’s happening to our own capacity in the jobs that are being requested. Number 3: What are the demands from our employers? How many additional folks do they need? You’d have to do an assessment of that on a regular basis, but my overall view is we need more H1B visas, not less.

"Romney also expressed interest in expanding the number of H-1B visas, which allow employers to seek temporary help from foreigners holding at least a bachelor's degree. 'H-1B visas are a great source of a brain magnet, if you will, bringing people into this country who have skill and experience from other countries,' he said. Lamenting that many foreign doctoral candidates must leave the country after graduation, Romney added: 'I'd rather staple a green card to your diploma and say that if you can get a Ph.D. from one of our great institutions, we'd love you to stay here.'" September 25, 2007; The Associated Press

"Another aspect of American sovereignty is the security of our borders. The current system is a virtual concrete wall against those who have skill and education, but it's a wide open walk across the border for those that have neither." CPAC 2007 speech

"Romney argued, though, that American businesses need 'skilled' immigrants. 'If you're so lucky to be in India, let's say, and you've done real well in school and you've gotten a scholarship to come to Iowa State to study...you're going to get a Ph.D, the only condition...is once you've got your degree, you've got to go home. In my opinion if you've got a Ph.D from Iowa State, we'd like you to stay,' Romney says. 'We'll staple a green card to your diploma.'Romney said current immigration policy has made it 'almost impossible' for people with skills and advanced degrees to become citizens, 'but if you don't have any skill or any education, you can just walk across the border.' Romney declared that current immigration laws do not make sense." February 8, 2007; Radio Iowa News

""I would rein in federal funding for cities that won’t enforce the law -- so-called 'sanctuary cities.' I would cut back highway funds to any state that gives out drivers licenses to illegal aliens, and I would cut back higher education funds to states that give in-state tuition breaks to illegal aliens." November 21, 2007; Human Events

"I would cut back highway funds to any state that gives out drivers licenses to illegal aliens, and I would cut back higher education funds to states that give in-state tuition breaks to illegal aliens." November 21, 2007; Human Events

"I would cut back highway funds to any state that gives out drivers licenses to illegal aliens, and I would cut back higher education funds to states that give in-state tuition breaks to illegal aliens." November 21, 2007; Human Events

"As governor, I took a very different approach. I authorized our state police to enforce immigration laws. I vetoed a tuition break for illegals and said no to driver's licenses. McCain-Kennedy gives benefits to illegals that would cost taxpayers millions." CPAC 2007 speech