CHALLENGE #8:

Ending The Tide

Of Illegal Immigrants
CHALLENGE: The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has
exploded in the last decade from 3 million to over 12 million.
The increasing tide of illegal immigration has eroded
Americans’ faith in the rule of law, put great pressure on our
health and education systems, and compromised our national
security as our ability to secure our border is questioned
around the world. This tide of illegal immigration has made a
mockery of our legal immigration system and been
fundamentally unfair to those legal immigrants who play by the
rules as they wait patiently to pursue the American dream.
Sanctuary cities, in particular, attract more illegal immigrants
and increase the pressure on federal law enforcement and
border control.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: “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 tamper-
proof documentation and employment-verification system, and
increase legal immigration into America.” (David Yepsen,
Op-Ed, “So Far, Romney’s Been Most Impressive Republican,”
Des Moines Register, 7/11/07)

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Ending The Tide Of Illegal Immigrants:
THE ROM NEYPlan
Stop Illegal Immigration
■ Secure The Border. Follow through on Congressional
commitment to build a physical and technological
fence along the southern border, and secure other
points of entry.
■ Implement An Enforceable Employer Verification
System. Issue a biometrically-enabled and tamper-
proof card to non-citizens and create a national
database for non-citizens so employers can easily verify
their legal status in this country.
■ Reject Amnesty. Do not give amnesty or any
special pathway to those who have come to this
country illegally.
■ Punish Sanctuary Cities. Cut back federal funding to
cities that are “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants and
refuse to comply with federal law or aid federal
law enforcement.
■ Improve Interior Enforcement. Provide resources to
enforce immigration laws throughout the nation, and
crackdown on employers who continue to hire illegals
with stiffer fines and penalties.
■ Encourage Legal Immigration. Streamline the system
to recruit and retain skilled workers and welcome the
best and the brightest from around the world to
our universities.
ROMNEY
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: “I was at the San Diego border and
met with our Border Patrol agents. They told me that more
than a half of those that try and come across those fences
are able to do so. They said there’s no way to stop them at
the border, unless you close down the magnets. And the
magnets are sanctuary cities and having employers sign
people up that have come here illegally to do work here. You
have to end sanctuary cities. You have to cut back on
federal funding to cities that continue to call themselves
sanctuary cities and welcome people in, as New York has
done. And you have to say to employers that hire people
illegally, ‘That’s also going to be sanctioned.’ This is the way
we’re going to have to finally end it. And the other key point
is this, which is having amnesty and saying to individuals, as
the mayor has said, if you come here and you’re willing to
work here and pay taxes, we’ll sign you up. That’s not the
right message. We’ve got to enforce the law, welcoming legal
immigration but ending illegal immigration.“ (Fox News,
Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, Durham, NH,
9/5/07)
www.MittRomney.com 41