ORLANDO, Fla. — Declaring that America must make legal immigration more attractive, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney outlined a plan that would expedite legal visas — especially for family members of legal immigrants — and tighten controls on illegal immigration.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Declaring that America must make legal immigration more attractive, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney outlined a plan that would expedite legal visas — especially for family members of legal immigrants — and tighten controls on illegal immigration.
Speaking before 1,000 members of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Romney laid out details for the first time of his alternative to President Barack Obama’s DREAM Act immigration reform proposal, and his move last week to allow two-year work visas for some young illegal immigrants, which Romney called “a stop-gap measure.”
“As president, I won’t settle for a stop-gap measure,” he said to the crowd, who greeted him with polite applause. “I will work with Republicans and Democrats to find a long-term solution. I will prioritize measures that strengthen legal immigration and make it easier. And I will address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil but resolute manner.
“We may not always agree, but when I make a promise to you, I will keep it,” adding that Obama has let down Hispanics by not pushing harder for immigration reforms since he took office in 2009.
Romney emphasized the need to keep immigrant families together — saying he would not apply existing annual quotas to family members seeking to join immigrants who are here legally — and stressed the need to cut red tape and increase opportunities for families and individuals seeking legal visas.
He called for citizenship to be offered to any immigrants serving in the armed forces, a part of the DREAM Act, and did not refer to his previous campaign promise to veto a DREAM Act if it passed after he was elected president. He also proposed any immigrants seeking advanced college degrees should get work visas to stay in the United States after their student visas expire.
