Barack Obama
Democratic Incumbent
Obama favors comprehensive reforms and his "blueprint for immigration reform" (PDF) notes his administration has doubled the number of Border Patrol agents on the southern border. His administration has begun using unmanned drones to collect intelligence along the border, and has installed more than 600 miles of fencing on the border with Mexico. He has stepped up deportations of illegal immigrants (AS/COA), prioritizing those "who pose a danger to national security or public safety."
The president also pushed for passage of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors), which would grant citizenship to children of illegal immigrants who attended college or went into the military. He advocates mandatory use of E-Verify systems, which allow employers to determine the citizenship status of potential employees, and he supports increased penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.
Obama said in a May 2011 speech that improving the immigration system would end "a massive underground economy that exploits a cheap source of labor while depressing wages for everybody else." He also ties job creation to an improved visa system for legal immigration. His blueprint advocates a "start-up visa" to allow foreign investors to open businesses in the United States. He backs the AgJOBS Act, which allows farms to legally hire foreign workers. Obama also supports reform of the H1B visa process, but does not explicitly advocate increasing the visa's quota.
Obama supports a path to legalization for the estimated 10.8 illegal immigrants already in the country (who are not criminals). Obama's Justice Department has brought suit against Arizona, South Carolina, Utah, and Alabama for state-based immigration enforcement laws (AP).
Ron Paul
Republican Candidate
Paul views immigration issues through the lens of civil liberties, arguing that allowing illegal immigrants to reap the benefits of those who are here legally is "a penalty against the American people." His website supports border security, arguing for U.S. troops abroad to be stationed at the Mexico border. He stops short of advocating a fence, noting in a September debate that it "may well be used against us [to] keep us in," as a way to control the population. For similar reasons, he opposes national ID cards.
He does not believe in granting amnesty to illegal immigrants already in the United States and is staunchly opposed to extending welfare benefits to those here illegally, because it unduly burdens state and local governments, as his campaign platforms notes. Paul also does not support the 14th amendment, and he would like to abolish birthright citizenship.
Mitt Romney
Republican Candidate
Romney is a strong proponent of a fence along the entire length of the United States' border with Mexico. In the 2012 campaign, he has spoken out against allowing illegal immigrants to "cut in line" in the path to legal citizenship, stating in a November 2011 debate that the United States needs to turn off "the magnets of amnesty, in-state tuition for illegal aliens, [and] employers that knowingly hire people that have come here illegally."At a January debate in Jacksonville, Romney said he is "pro-immigrant" and that he wanted people to come to United States legally.
In 2004, as governor of Massachusetts, Romney vetoed a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates (MSNBC), and he supports a national E-Verify mandate for employers (TheHill). Romney said in a January 2012 primary debate that, if individuals were determined to be in the United States illegally through the E-Verify system, "then they're going to find they can't get work here. And if people don't get work here, they're going to self-deport to a place where they can get work." In a November 2011 debate, he advocated more visas for foreign-born students in the fields of math, science, technology, and engineering (CNN) to encourage entrepreneurship in the United States.
Newt Gingrich (*withdrew)
Editor's Note: Gingrich withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on May 2, 2012.
Gingrich advocates the tough enforcement of immigration laws on the books, combined with a "humane" stance toward illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for years. In a November 2011 debate, Gingrich came out strongly in support of a path to amnesty for illegal immigrants who have been living in the United States for decades and advocated a "Red Card Solution," which separates legalization from citizenship (WashPost). Following the debate, he said he would block federal funds to any city that "declared itself a sanctuary" for illegal immigrants, and he voiced support for a South Carolina immigration law that requires police officers to check the immigration status of those they detain (CBS). In a January debate in Florida (WashPost), Gingrich said that he would make it easier to deport people but he also said legal immigration should be fixed "in terms of visas so people can come and go easily -- more easily than doing it illegally."
In November 2011, he likened the legalization process to the draft panels in World War II, with the community deciding "who was a good citizen and who should leave" (ABC). On his website, he dismisses the idea of "comprehensive reform" and advocates "ten steps to a legal nation," including controlling the border with more agents and drones, improving the U.S. visa system, and expanding the H1-B high-skilled worker visas. In a January 2012 primary debate in South Carolina, Gingrich said he was prepared to move half of the Homeland Security employees who work in Washington "to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, if that's what it took to control the border."
Gingrich backs an E-Verify-type system that outsources to American Express, Visa, or MasterCard so as to avoid fraud. "Once a legal guest worker system has been build with real-time, 24/7 verification, there will be no excuse for employers hiring people illegally," his website states. "At that point, the economic penalty on illegal employers should go up substantially."
In a February debate, he said he would expedite the completion of a border fence by January 1, 2014.
Rick Santorum (*withdrew)
Editor's Note: Santorum withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on April 10, 2012.
Santorum is a staunch advocate of a border fence. "Until we build that border, we should neither have storm troopers come in and throw people out of the country nor should we provide amnesty," he said in a September 2011 CNN debate. As a Pennsylvania senator, Santorum voted against allowing illegal immigrants to participate in Social Security, giving guest workers a path to citizenship, and granting benefits to illegal immigrants (YahooNews). He also spoke about the need for employer enforcement, including an E-verify system, in a January 2012 debate. "We need to have not only employers sanctioned," he said, but also people who are working here illegally, need to be deported. In an Arizona debate in February, Santorum said that he would not require homeowners to use E-Verify to check the status of workers in private households. "I think that's one step too far," he said.
As president, he would reduce employment opportunities for illegal immigrants, but says after the border is secure, there needs to be a "discussion [on] how long they've been here, whether they had other type of records," according to a September MSNBC/Politico debate. He does not provide specifics on what to do with the nearly eleven million illegal immigrants, but he has alluded to dealing with them separately and opposed mass deportations (NYT). The son of an Italian immigrant, Santorum supports legal immigration as a means to increase U.S. growth and competitiveness (WashPost).
Michele Bachmann (*withdrew)
Editor's Note: Rep. Bachmann withdrew her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on January 4, 2012.
Bachmann has called for the deportation of the country's estimated eleven million illegal immigrants in stages, beginning with those who have committed crimes (TheHill). She supports a fence stretching the length of the border between the United States and Mexico and was the first candidate to sign a pledge to construct a fence by 2013 (ABCNews). She says not building such a fence is the equivalent of "yielding United States sovereignty." She advocates stronger enforcement of immigration laws already on the books, and opposes any tax-subsidized programs for those in the country illegally. Bachmann opposes any iteration of a federal DREAM Act, calling it amnesty, although she supports more visas for engineers and "people who are highly skilled" (WashPost).
Jon Huntsman (*withdrew)
Editor's Note: Huntsman withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on January 16, 2012.
Huntsman says the "legal immigration system is broken" and advocates improving the H1B visa process to attract "brain power" to the United States. While governor of Utah, he threatened to veto a bill that would do away with in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants (AP) and signed legislation giving illegal immigrants Driving Privilege Cards so they could legally operate a vehicle (USAToday).
He has called a border fence "repulsive" (NYT), but says it's a necessary first step to securing the borders, which should include a combination of "fencing, technology, and National Guard boots on the ground." (LATimes) In an interview in September 2011 with Spanish-language TV, he said "you have to create a system whereby you can move towards citizenship," and reiterated his support for a federal DREAM Act.
Rick Perry (*withdrew)
Editor's Note: Perry withdrew his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on January 19, 2012.
As governor of a border state, Perry has positioned himself as uniquely experienced on border security (Politico). He signed a 2001 Texas law allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition, arguing that without a college education, "they will become a drag on our society" (MSNBC). At a September 2011 Florida debate of GOP candidates, he said those who opposed similar education policies had no heart.
Perry has argued against a border fence, instead calling for increased manpower and "strategic fencing" in "high-traffic areas" to augment security, according to his website. In November 2011, Perry secured the support of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known for his tough stance on illegal immigration (NYT). In a public appearance with Arpaio, Perry said that "within a year of being inaugurated, that border will be shut down" (LAT), and he pledged to "detain and deport every illegal alien who is apprehended in this country" in an expedited fashion (Reuters).
Campaign 2012
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