Romney: Obama has made it harder to get permanent immigration solution

CBS News) MILFORD, N.H. - Mitt Romney said FRIDAY that President Obama's new policy of letting some 800,000 undocumented young people obtain work permits to stay in the United States will make it harder to reach agreement on a permanent legislative solution to the immigration dilemma.

"I believe the status of young people who come here through no fault of their own is an important matter to be considered and should be solved on a long term basis so they know what their future would be in this country," Romney said after an ice cream social on the first day of a five-day, six-state bus tour. "I think the action the president took today makes it more difficult to reach that long-term solution because an executive order is of course just a short term matter. It can be reversed by subsequent presidents." He was asked if he would overturn the order if he's elected, but he did not answer the question.

Romney's sentiments echoed those expressed Friday by a number of Republicans, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has proposed a law similar to what Obama put in place by executive order; Arizona Sen. John McCain, who once led a drive for comprehensive bipartisan reform dealing with all undocumented immigrants, and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who told CBS and National Journal at an appearance in North Carolina, "I wish the president would work with us in Congress."

Romney said that "I happen to agree with Marco Rubio" that we need a long-term solution that provides "certain and clarity to the people who come into this country through no fault of their own by virtue of the action of their parents." However, he has not embraced Rubio's particular solution, which is similar to what Obama is doing via executive order.

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In a taped television interview with WMUR in Manchester, Romney said it is unfortunate that immigration came up now and that Obama should have dealt with it years ago, according to a tweet from an assignment editor at the station.

Romney doesn't oppose executive orders in general. He has said he would issue one on his first day in office giving all 50 states waivers from the Affordable Care Act, should the Supreme Court uphold it.

Rebecca Kaplan contributed to this report.

[doll3115]

All Romney said about Latinos was for them to SELF DEPORT. Well MR. Romney tell your plans for immigrants to stay in America but guess what you don't have an idea for that or anything else for america but to beat Obama on small words. Get a brain. You are not on American idol, this job for president is real. Just cause you have the most money to campaign doesn't make you the president . Please, please give AMERICAINS your plans to turn everything that you say that Obama is not doing around to make the USA a better place but again you have no clue at all but that you just want the title of being the president and with that frame of mind it helps no one at all but yourself.

[doll3115]

Well the GOP needs to past the dream act and it will be no more discussion about the matter, but they will not and are not going to do this. They can bring the dream act up for discussion this week since they act like that was what Rubio was going to do but they as usuall were going to do nothing at all. They were the ones trying to use this as getting the Latinos to vote for them on something they were never going to do anyway and we knew this as Latinos and so Obama took care of that. Move on!!!!!!

[hypnotoad72]

He should say his own position before lambasting others.

His lack in doing so does not make him an effective or convincing leader.

He's hiding.

Especially when his comrades McCain and Reagan both have supported amnesty. Lest you forget:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/14/sen-mccain-and-illegal-immigration/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128303672

[sweetcakesmaria]

This country has been kicking around this immigration issue for ever. Congress just can't seem to solve the problem. President Obama took a bold step yesterday and hopefully that will spur our congress to act. Of course Mitt Romney is not going to praise President Obama for doing what's right because the immigration issue will remain status quo under a Romney Presidency.

[Lerianis4]

That is because there isn't really a 'problem' at all. Illegal immigrants are blamed for things that do not come from them, but from the lack of a living minimum wage and the businesses who are willing to hire people 'under the table' because they know if they do, even if caught, they don't be fined much if anything.

Best immigration solution is to allow anyone from Mexico and Canada to come here, no visa necessary. 99% of our immigration 'problem' solved.

[hypnotoad72]

Lerianis4 -

The net effect of what you propose would be no different than the status quo, as reflected by:

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/hiring-illegal-immigrants.html

(Summary: Companies that utilize people here illegally then lower wages on those here legally, which in turn extends the recession since we have less money to spend. Economics 101. More demand for a supply of jobs that doesn't exist, meaning wages go down because demand is so plentiful... actually, if jobs were valued and there were so few, one would think their value would go up, but if everybody can do the work one needn't assign value to it... isn't it nice to know that your time and life are valued so little by those who take the most in welfare (corporations, since they get total bailouts at our expense too...))

[jeanne0256]

so romney saying he takes credit for the General Motors bailout wasn't Politics ?

[hypnotoad72]

*zing*

[JoeBGud13]

Gee, it only took Mitt 36 hrs to decide to respond negatively to President Obama's Temp. Order to keep from Deporting these young adults.

I wonder how long it would take Mitt to take the call, in the middle of the night, that some country was attacking the United States?

By the way President Obama was forced to make that decision after the Republican House refused to act on the Immigration Bill, for over two years.

[hypnotoad72]

Those questions must never be asked to those asking them about their opponents!

[marychgo]

Mitt's waiting for the polls before he tells us what he thinks.

Meanwhile, all Obama and DHS are doing is what EVERY administration inevitably does: setting PRIORITIES.

Who should be at the TOP of the list for deportation? I think folks who've been convicted of felonies or serious misdemeanors are pretty good candidates. Does anyone on this thread disagree?

Who should be at the BOTTOM of the list for deportation? I think people between 16 and 30 who were brought here as infants or toddlers or kids (and often don't even know the language of the country they came from), who've graduated from high school and/or college and/or served in the military, and who HAVEN'T been convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor are pretty good candidates. Does anyone on this thread disagree?

I support the DREAM Act, which would give those young people a path to citizenship. But the Republicans (not the Democrats, Juliatime; remember the filibuster rule!) refused to pass that, because it might have helped Obama. So the ONLY part of what Obama and DHS did that isn't a simple matter of setting priorities is allowing those young people to qualify for work permits. And that's a good thing, which allows our society to benefit from their contributions.

[hypnotoad72]

If I had to compromise, I would side with your second and third paragraphs with ease.

I need to know more about the DREAM act, which I thought had to do with getting people back to college since Obama is on record saying we need more college educated here for the tech field (amongst others) but until the jobs that pay enough that allow student loans to be repaid in a fair manner (never mind jobs that allow people to use their learned skills and build on them before 'skill rot' sets in), and I've posted a dozen or so links on this issue and its direct tangents alone in the past...

Which means Obama needs the help of Congress and the private industry. Private colleges seem more keen on inflating grades and giving other excuses to private companies to make excuses as to why they offshore jobs (few of which I believe anymore since the one the mass media never correlates speaks for itself)...

Everything is so out of hand that Obama really needs to put his foot down. The working class, consumers, etc, are being shafted from both ends...

[ocman_nguyen]

This is no Dream Act from Obama.
This is his desperate act to get sympathy votes--both legal as well
as illegal.
http://wp.me/p28mLX-ir

[sjc_1]

This is a way to allow children that were brought to this country to finish school and become productive people. It is NOT amnesty and it in NO way prevents the DREAM Act from becoming law. Just because Romney says something does not mean that it is the truth, we should know that by now.

[hypnotoad72]

sjc_1 -

Bingo.

[nearl451]

From a political perspective, I don't think this was a smart move by Obama. The anti-illegal immigrant sentiments in this Country have run rampant thorugh every economic recession and continually since President Bush tried to do immigration reform and was cut-off by his own Party.

Rubio was planning on offering some immigration reform bill discussed during the election cycle.......but of course it doesn't have widespread Republicansupportand would not have passed. SO the intention is just to soften the view of the Republican Party with Hispanic voters. All the President has done is beat Rubio to that discussion. You can see that Romney wants to excoriate Obama for this, but is trapped trying not to alienate someone. So now it's a separation of Powers issue.

The order is a move in the right direction on policy, however. I just don't know if America will ever be enlightended enough to legislate something similar.

[hypnotoad72]

Some just hate.

Others try to look at the whole when possible, and someone had:

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/hiring-illegal-immigrants.html

(Summary: Companies that utilize people here illegally then lower wages on those here legally, which in turn extends the recession since we have less money to spend. Economics 101.)

[taxchurches]

"I'm running for President of the United States because it's my destiny to be president," said Romney on Friday. "God has called me, as a Mormon, to spread the true faith to this country."

"I'm not concerned about polls," the candidate responded to one reporter's question. "In truth, I'm not concerned about my wealthy backers, the so-called 'little guy' or even the voters themselves. My only concern is for the will of God and the fulfillment of that destiny."