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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/04/08
John McCain says
> "Border security" is his highest priority, and he supports more guards and high-tech surveillance.
He voted for the 2006 measure that adds 700 more miles of fence line between the U.S. and Mexico.
> Wants a path toward legalization for the estimated 12 million immigrants now in the country unlawfully. His plan, like Obama's, would require those applying for legal status to pay fines, clear criminal background checks and pay back taxes owed to federal and state authorities. It must also include a provision encouraging immigrants to learn English.
> Supports a greatly expanded guest worker program.
> Co-sponsored the DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act of 2007, which would allow states to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students for public colleges and universities.
QUOTE: "What do you do with the 11 million people who are already here? Make them earn citizenship because they have broken our laws. My friends, that's not amnesty. Amnesty is forgiveness. We're not forgiving anything."
Barack Obama says
> Require those applying for legal status to pay fines, clear criminal background and medical checks and pay any back taxes. Would include a provision for learning English.
> Toughen penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants.
> Create a mandatory new system for verifying employment eligibility.
> Create a new guest worker program but require that immigrant workers be less dependent on employers to stay in the country.
> Grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
> Voted yes on a 2006 border security measure that adds 700 more miles of fence line between the U.S. and Mexico.
> Co-sponsored the DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act of 2007, which would allow states to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students at public colleges.
QUOTE: "We've got 12 million undocumented workers who are
already here, many of them living their lives alongside other Americans. Their kids are going to school. . . . It's absolutely vital that we bring those families out of the shadows."
The Journal-Constitution says
> Both candidates offer sound, comprehensive approaches to dealing with illegal immigration. Their positions vary only in degrees of emphasis and essentially encompass the provisions of the failed Senate effort in 2007 to enact major changes in the nation's immigration policies.
> McCain, who had been one of the most reasoned voices in the Senate for years on the issue, has been pushed to the right by Republican hardliners in the House who were hypercritical of his efforts. In the race for the GOP nomination, his opponents also hammered him for his position on immigration. The result is that now he is more likely to emphasize the need for border security than to raise the issue of providing a path toward citizenship for those illegal immigrants already here. To his credit, he has not backed off on that basic requirement of comprehensive reform.
> Obama has not played a major role in immigration reform efforts in recent years, letting other Democrats, such as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), take the lead on the subject. But his votes have consistently been in support of comprehensive reform measures.
> The 2006 measure calling for building 700 miles of new fences between the U.S.-Mexico border that both Obama and McCain supported was political theater after House Republicans blocked more comprehensive reform. About half the illegal immigrants coming into the country cross the border legally with valid paperwork that eventually expires. The money spent on building new fences would be more effectively used tracking down these illegal immigrants quickly once their documents expire.
> The nation needs an expanded guest worker program, but Obama is correct in his concerns about linking such an expansion directly to employer sponsorship. The risk is that employers can exploit guest workers with lower wages than what they might pay native-born workers for the same job, or that it would create a permanent underclass of temporary workers.
> The DREAM Act, providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students who graduate from American high schools, rewards assimilation and hard work and ought to be enacted. The more education these students can get, the better off economically they and their families will be.
> Obama's wrong about granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. A license to drive is not a right, it is a privilege extended by the states. The 9/11 Commission, after in-depth study of the issue, recommended that states stop issuing driver's licenses to those in the country illegally. Plus, granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants complicates the identity-verification process.
POSITION PAPER: An occasional series on the issues driving the 2008 presidential campaign
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