Wall Street Journal
By Beth Reinhard and Mark Peters
March 7, 2015
Three
possible Republican presidential candidates called for legal
protections for undocumented workers Saturday, contrasting themselves
from the rest of the field.
In
remarks at the Iowa Ag Summit, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former New
York Gov. George Pataki and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham also
said they support stricter
border security, a position in line with the Republican Party’s
conservative base.
“Immigrants
that are here need to have a path to legalized status,” said Mr. Bush,
adding that they need to learn English and hold down jobs. “This is the
only serious,
thoughtful way to deal with this and we better start doing it because
this is a competitive world.”
Mr.
Graham, who co-sponsored legislation in 2013 that would have provided a
pathway for some illegal immigrants to become citizens, said, “They’re
all not going to walk
back to where they came from. Be practical.”
Florida
Sen. Marco Rubio was another co-sponsor of the immigration bill, which
was widely opposed by conservatives. But Mr. Rubio, who did not attend
Saturday’s summit,
has disavowed a broad immigration overhaul and said it was a mistake
not to secure the border first.
Meanwhile,
former Texas Gov. Rick Perry detailed a plan of strategic fences,
fast-response teams, and planes, while calling for an overhaul of
federal immigration enforcement,
including a system to track visa holders as effectively as packages.
Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker rejected measures denounced by conservatives as
“amnesty” for illegal immigrants, while also labeling border security as
the first step. “It’s
a national security issue. None of us are going to build a house and
put a fence around three sides,” he said.
Texas
Sen. Ted Cruz took a similar stance, putting border security first
along with fixing what he called a broken system for legal immigration.
Sondra
Childs-Smith, an Ames conservative activist who attended the summit,
said Mr. Bush’s position on immigration will make it difficult for him
to win over Iowa Republicans.
“He’s
definitely not a conservative to me. He’s more like Democrat-lite,” she
said. “People should not be rewarded for breaking the law.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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