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Romney Campaign Press Release - "What Is the Governor Supposed To Do?"

November 01, 2007

Sen. Hillary Clinton Caves In To Illegal Immigration, Instead Of Taking Action

"I vetoed a bill that would have given tuition breaks to illegal aliens. I insisted that we not give driver's licenses to illegal aliens, and I authorized our state police to enforce federal immigration laws." – Gov. Mitt Romney (O. Kay Henderson, "Romney Raps Clinton, Thompson Over Immigration Policy," Radio Iowa Website, www.radioiowa.com/, Posted 10/31/07)

THE ROMNEY VISION: A LEADER TAKES ACTION TO STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Gov. Mitt Romney Took Action To Stop Illegal Immigration:

As Governor, Mitt Romney Took Action To Stop Illegal Immigration. "Romney maintains that as governor of Massachusetts, he had an 'aggressive' and 'clear' stance against illegal immigration. 'I vetoed a bill that would have given tuition breaks to illegal aliens. I insisted that we not give driver's licenses to illegal aliens,' Romney said, 'and I authorized our state police to enforce federal immigration laws.'" (O. Kay Henderson, "Romney Raps Clinton, Thompson Over Immigration Policy," Radio Iowa Website, www.radioiowa.com/, Posted 10/31/07)

- Gov. Mitt Romney, 2003: "If They Are Here Illegally, They Should Not Get Driver's Licenses." (Scott S. Greenberger, "Romney Stand Dims Chances Of License For Undocumented," The Boston Globe, 10/28/03)

- Gov. Romney Signed A Memorandum Of Agreement With The Federal Government To Allow State Troopers To Enforce Federal Immigration Laws. "Governor Mitt Romney and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ICE, which will give specially trained Massachusetts State Troopers the authority to administer and enforce federal immigration laws in the Commonwealth." (Office Of The Governor, "Governor Romney, ICE Sign Immigration Enforcement Pact," Press Release, 12/13/06)

- Gov. Romney Vetoed In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants. "Romney also vetoed a number of outside sections of the budget, including: ... A plan that would have permitted illegal aliens to pay the same in-state tuition rate at our public colleges and universities as Massachusetts citizens." (Office Of The Governor, "Romney Signs $22.402B Fiscal Year 2005 'No New Tax' Budget," Press Release, 6/25/04)

As President, Gov. Romney Would Continue To Take Action To Stop Illegal Immigration. GOV. ROMNEY: "Legal immigration is great. But illegal immigration – that we've got to end. And amnesty is not the way to do it." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At An Ask Mitt Anything, Derry, NH, 4/3/07)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON: THROW UP YOUR HANDS, BLAME SOMEONE ELSE

Sen. Hillary Clinton Doesn't Believe Elected Officials Are Responsible For Fixing Illegal Immigration:

Sen. Hillary Clinton, On New York Governor Spitzer Granting Licenses To Illegals: "What Is The Governor Supposed To Do? He Is Dealing With A Serious Problem." (MSNBC, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 10/30/07)

Sen. Hillary Clinton Said Giving Driver's License To Illegal Immigrants "Makes A Lot Of Sense." NBC's TIM RUSSERT: "Senator Clinton, I just want to make sure what I heard. Do you, the New York Senator Hillary Clinton, support the New York governor's plan to give illegal immigrants a driver's license?" ... SEN. HILLARY CLINTON: "You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays gotcha. It makes a lot of sense."

Sen. Hillary Clinton Believes The Federal Government Forced New York To Give Licenses To Illegals. "'Senator Clinton supports governors like Governor Spitzer who believe they need such a measure to deal with the crisis caused by this administration's failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform,' her campaign said in a statement." (Sasha Issenberg, "Clinton backs N.Y. Driver's License Plan For Illegal Immigrants," The Boston Globe, 11/1/07)

Sen. Hillary Clinton Supports Sanctuary City Policies; Blames The Federal Government For Them. MSNBC's TIM RUSSERT: "Senator Clinton, would you allow the sanctuary cities to exist?" SEN. CLINTON: "Well, in addition to the general points that have been made, that I agree with, why do they have sanctuary cities? In large measure because if local law enforcement begins to act like immigration enforcement officers, what that means is that you will have people not reporting crimes. You will have people hiding from the police. And I think that is a real direct threat to the personal safety and security of all the citizens. So this is a result of the failure of the federal government, and that's where it needs to be fixed." (MSNBC Democratic Presidential Debate, Dartmouth, NH, 9/26/07)

Sen. Hillary Clinton Believes Cities Have No Choice But To Ignore Federal Immigration Laws. RUSSERT: "But you would allow the sanctuary cities to disobey the federal law." SEN. CLINTON: "Well, I don't think there is any choice. The ICE groups go in and raid individuals, but if you're a local police chief and you're trying to solve a crime that you know people from the immigrant community have information about, they may not talk to you if they think you're also going to be enforcing the immigration laws." (MSNBC Democratic Presidential Debate, Dartmouth, NH, 9/26/07)

Sen. Hillary Clinton's Excuses Mirror Those Of Former New York Mayor Giuliani:

- Mayor Giuliani: Nobody But The Federal Government Should Take Responsibility For Illegal Immigration. "Responsibility for stopping illegal immigration belongs to the federal government and not to cities, states or businesses, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday. Giuliani told small-business owners he would not punish them for unwittingly hiring illegal immigrants. Federal officials are 'trying to put the responsibility for this on employers, on city government, on state government,' the former New York mayor said during a conference call arranged by the National Federation of Independent Businesses. 'The simple fact is, nobody but the federal government can stop people from coming into this country illegally, and the federal government does a very bad job of that,' Giuliani said." (Libby Quaid, "Giuliani: Illegals Are A Federal Problem, The Associated Press, 10/31/07)

- Mayor Giuliani's Attitude Was That Nothing Could Be Done About Illegals, So You Might As Well Give Sanctuary. "'The reality is that they are here, and they're going to remain here,' Mr. Giuliani said of the children. 'The choice becomes for a city what do you do? Allow them to stay on the streets or allow them to be educated? The preferred choice from the point of view of New York City is to be educated.'" (Eric Schmitt, "Giuliani Criticizes G.O.P. And Dole On Immigration," The New York Times, 6/7/96)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - "What Is the Governor Supposed To Do?" Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/296130

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