Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich outlined a detailed plan for dealing with the problem of illegal immigration in a wide-ranging exclusive interview taped for a
Newsmax 2012 Campaign Special.
“I think you have to take on immigration as a series of building blocks,” the former House speaker says.
Editor's Note: Watch the Newsmax 2012 Campaign Special with Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.
“First, you complete the [border] fence by January 1, 2014 so that you have control over the border, which does a great deal in terms of stopping drugs, in terms of stopping illegal immigration and in terms of national security.
“Second, you make English the official language of government so that there is one common language. Remember, it’s not just one or two languages — I think there are something like 84 languages spoken in Miami Dade College, for example.
“Third, you make it easier to get a legal visa to come here as a tourist, for business, as a student, and to see family.
“Fourth, you make it easier to expel people. If somebody belongs to MS-13, which is a very violent gang, you should be able to get rid of them overnight. There’s no reason it should drag out for two or three years.
“Then I think you have to create a legal guest worker program so people who do have a job can get a legal permit, come here temporarily. Their employer has legal proof that they are legal and it ought to be run by American Express, Visa or MasterCard because they actually know who [can] run a program like this without fraud, where the federal government frankly can’t.
“When you have a legal guest worker program you could then increase dramatically the economic penalties on employers because they would have no excuse for hiring somebody who is here illegally.”
Gingrich also says he is opposed to expelling illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for many years and are law-abiding, taxpaying members of their community. But he opposes amnesty for these people.
“No, I think amnesty would allow them to become citizens,” Gingrich says. “I support on a very limited basis [steps toward residency] for people with a very long record of being here.”
Editor's Note: Newt Gingrich Vows to Carry On President Reagan's Legacy — Click Here to Watch Video.
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