Fred Thompson on Immigration
31 October 2007Here is a pretty fair assessment of Thompson’s record on immigration by John Hawkins of RightWingNews.com.
Thompson’s Immigration record
Did he support the Bush/Kennedy Comprehensive Immigration Bill?: No.
Former Stance: His record was mixed during his Senate tenure, but he has been consistently in favor of improving enforcement and border security along with no amnesty or new guest worker bills later since he came back on the political scene in early 2007.
Current Stance: Improve enforcement and border security, no amnesty or new guest worker bills later.
Notable Quotables: “Some votes are likely to draw scrutiny, particularly a series of votes in the 1990s against cracking down on illegal aliens. Those include a 1995 vote against limiting services other than emergency care and public education to illegal aliens — he was one of just six senators to oppose that proposal — and a 1996 vote against creating an employer verification system to help businesses filter out illegal aliens who apply for jobs.
…An adviser to the campaign on immigration matters, who asked not to be named, said Mr. Thompson had concerns about how broadly the public-benefits provision was drawn. As for the employer verification system, the adviser said Mr. Thompson joined a majority of Republicans in the chamber in opposing it, with many of them thinking the new system would lead to a national ID card.” — The Washington Times, September 5, 2007
“I think its time for a little plain talk to the leaders of Mexico. Something like: hey guys, you’re our friends and neighbors and we love you but it’s time you had a little dose of reality. A sovereign nation loses that status if it cannot secure its own borders and we are going to do whatever is necessary to do so, although our policies won’t be as harsh as yours are along your southern border. And criticizing the U.S. for alternately doing too much and too little to stop your illegal activities is not going to set too well with Americans of good will who are trying to figure a way out of the mess that your and our open borders policy has already created.” — Fred Thompson, Paul Harvey Show, March 20, 2007
Short Summary: Thompson had a mixed, but generally positive record on illegal immigration issues when he was in the Senate and in his defense, it wasn’t exactly a hot issue back then. Since he has gotten into the race, Fred has been tougher on illegal immigration than any of his other top tier rivals and he has introduced a very strong, very specific immigration plan.
Can He Be Trusted To Hang Tough On This Issue? Given the specificity of his plans, the toughness of his rhetoric, and his willingness to go further than his top tier rivals, it seems likely that he’d stick to his guns in a general election or if he got into the White House.
Loading ...
