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Rick Santorum presidential campaign, 2016/Immigration
From Ballotpedia
 Rick Santorum |
Former U.S. Senator (1995-2007) Former U.S. Representative (1991-1995) |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Rick Santorum talked about his position on immigration: “Almost all of the people who are here illegally, and most of the people who came here legally over the last 20 years, they're working in wage-earning jobs. That is why wages have flat-lined. And we have unfortunately two political parties with most of the candidates in this field for some form of amnesty, some form of allowing people to stay here even though they're here illegally and for increasing levels of legal immigration. I'm someone who believes that we need to be the party that stands for the American worker. And when we say we need to send people back, I mean we send people back. And let me just make one point. I was in Storm Lake, Iowa, the other day, near a Tyson's plant, 91 percent of the kids that go to the elementary school there are minority kids. And they said, well, what are you going to do with all of these people, their families, they've lived here for a long time? I said, I'm going to give them a gift. I'm going to give them a gift of being able to help the country they were born in. And I'm going to export America, the education they were able to see. They learned English language. They learned about capitalism. They learned about democracy. You want to stop flow of immigrants? Let's send six million Mexicans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, El Salvadorians back into their country, so they can start a renaissance in their country so they won't be coming over here anymore.”[2]
- On October 13, 2015, Santorum released his Economic Freedom Agenda, which called for sealing the Mexican border with an American-made wall; rescinding the executive actions allowing some of those in the country without documentation to stay; and reduce legal immigration by 25% to ensure that Americans get the first shot at new jobs and higher wages. He also would veto any legislation "aimed at creating amnesty." The centerpiece of the agenda is his 20/20 Flat Tax Plan, which proposes a 20 percent flat tax on individual income and a 20 percent flat tax on business income. The plan also proposed increasing the minimum wage; repealing Obamacare in order to pay for the flat tax proposal; approving the Keystone XL Pipeline; and creating work requirements for means-tested entitlement programs.[3] [4]
- On September 23, 2015, Santorum called for Republicans to shift the debate on immigration and deportation away from “being compassionate.” He said, “Instead of thinking about the Mexican who is here, and being compassionate, any time we talk about the issue we need to talk about what is in the best interests of America. We have allowed Democrats to change the debate.” He added, “I am for an orderly process of removals.”[5]
- In an interview on Fox News on August 21, 2015, Santorum said it was “absolutely proper” for Congress to determine what citizenship is. He explained, “A lot of legal scholars would say Congress has the right to define what citizenship is and a right to look at the 14th Amendment and interpret it and pass a law [so that] children born in this country to illegal immigrants are not legal citizens."[6]
- On August 20, 2015, Santorum said he would have American workers build a wall on the border and press on Mexico to be more vigilant in immigration enforcement. “While I won’t demand the government of Mexico build a wall, I want U.S. workers to do that by the way, I’ll make it clear to the Mexican government that they must stop facilitating the lawlessness on the border and cooperate with our efforts. I will do all I can do change Mexico’s behavior for the benefit of both countries,” Santorum said.[7]
- Santorum published an op-ed in The Iowa Republican on July 30, 2015, to detail his immigration policy. He called for restricting the “chain immigration” of families and H1-B visa program for skilled workers and ending the visa lottery system. “I believe we need to reduce our legal immigration levels by 25%. I believe immigration can be a very good thing. But as with anything, there can also be too much of a good thing. When our labor markets cannot manage the influx we are receiving, then it is time to recalibrate. This is not anti-immigrant, it is common-sense because stagnant wages and joblessness is not good for anyone regardless of race, gender, or immigration status,” Santorum wrote.[8]
- In November 2014, after President Barack Obama announced that millions of undocumented immigrants would not be not deported, Santorum said, "He's doing this as a slap in the face of every working American, and that is what we should be talking about. ...You know, who gets hurt most by what the president just did? Hispanics in America. You're adding 5 million mostly unskilled workers into a labor pool right now, where wages are declining and income in America is declining."[9]
- In June 2013, Santorum criticized Marco Rubio, the Gang of Eight and their immigration reform bill. He said, "Look, I think that the issue of immigration and respecting the rule of law in this country is a very, very important thing for Republican voters across the country and the idea that there are Republicans in Washington, D.C., who are going to say 'well, the rule of law isn’t that important. The idea that people coming into this country illegally and we’re basically going to put them and treat them the same as people who are going to come here legally,' it’s just not going to go over well on the Republican primary. I certainly respect senators from states with different opinions on that but I think there’s going to certainly be consequences for folks who don’t understand the importance of or have respect for the rule of law that Republicans have."[10]
- Santorum voted for HR 6061 - Secure Fence Act of 2006, which directed "the Secretary of Homeland Security, within 18 months of enactment of this Act, to take appropriate actions to achieve operational control over U.S. international land and maritime borders." It became law on October 26, 2006.[13][14]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Rick Santorum to Launch Second White House Bid," May 27, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Transcript: Fox Business undercard Republican debate," January 14, 2016
- ↑ Santorum Economic Freedom Agenda, accessed October 14, 2015
- ↑ Santorum 2016 website, "Senator Santorum Unveils His Economic Freedom Agenda," accessed October 14, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Santorum backs deportations to fix immigration crisis," September 23, 2015
- ↑ Newsmax, "Rick Santorum: 'Congress Has Right to Define Citizenship'," August 21, 2015
- ↑ The Blaze, "Rick Santorum Says American Workers Should Build the Border Wall, Not Mexicans," August 20, 2015
- ↑ The Iowa Republican, "Santorum: America needs an immigration policy that rewards those who do it right," July 30, 2015
- ↑ Newsmax, "Rick Santorum: Amnesty's a 'Slap in the Face' of Working Americans," November 22, 2014
- ↑ Breitbart, “Santorum: Rubio Lacks 'Respect' for 'Rule of Law'," June 26, 2013
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.2611," accessed March 19, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S. 2611 (Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006)," accessed March 19, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.6061 - Secure Fence Act of 2006," accessed March 19, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 6061)," accessed March 19, 2015
