Today in Orlando, Florida, Mitt Romney delivered a speech on the state of the economy to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and presented his strategy for immigration reform.
He promised that as president he would replace and supersede the stop-gap policy offered by President Obama last week to stop deportations and offer two-year work authorization to young undocumented immigrants and that he will focus on legal immigration, make it more transparent and easier; and deal with illegal immigration in a civil manner.
A National Immigration Strategy
As president, Mitt Romney will implement a national immigration strategy to address our nation’s broken immigration system. He will reach across the aisle and work with Congress to forge lasting solutions.
Grow Our Economy By Growing Legal Immigration
The United States is currently excluding too many workers who will start businesses, create jobs, foster innovation, and help grow our economy.
Attract More Highly Skilled Immigrants:
- High-skill immigrants start companies, create jobs, and drive innovation at an especially high rate. The United States is also projected to face a shortage of 230,000 science and technology workers by 2018. At the same time, we have set the caps on high-skill visas so low that, for some countries, an entire year’s quota has been filled in an hour. Mitt Romney will ask Congress to raise the caps on visas for highly skilled immigrants.
- Many country caps—or limits on immigrants from specific countries—are so low, that America is losing some of the best and brightest to our international competitors. Mitt Romney will work with Congress to raise the country caps.
- America should keep the best and the brightest here in the United States. Every foreign student who obtains an advanced degree in math, science, or engineering at a U.S. university should be granted permanent residency.
Make The Temporary Worker Visa System Functional:
Too often, harvest or tourist season passes before temporary worker visas are approved. In 2006 and 2007, nearly half (43%) of all applications for temporary agricultural workers were not processed on time.
- As president, Mitt Romney will make the system for bringing in temporary agricultural workers and other seasonal workers functional for both employers and immigrants. We should get rid of unnecessary requirements that delay issuance of a visa, and we should speed the processing of applications.
- Mitt Romney will work with Congress, states, and employers to properly set the cap on non-agricultural temporary worker visas. Many tourist-oriented businesses in the United States rely on these workers and would have to cut back or cease operations if there are not enough visas.
Secure Our Borders & Discourage Illegal Immigration
According to the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, Border Patrol lacks control of over half of our southwest border. And some estimates indicate that over 40% of illegal immigrants in America entered the country legally, but then overstayed their visas.
- Mitt Romney will complete a high-tech fence to enhance border security.
- Mitt Romney will ensure that we have the officers on the ground we need to gain control of the border.
- A Romney Administration will work to develop an efficient, effective system of exit verification to ensure people do not overstay their visas.
- Mitt Romney will develop an effective, mandatory employment verification system that will enable employers to be sure that those they hire are eligible to work. This will discourage illegal immigrants from coming to America to seek jobs.
- Mitt Romney will foster a legal immigration system that works. This will offer an alternative to those who would otherwise enter illegally. For instance, reforming our current temporary worker program will offer employers who need such staff a legal option to find employees.
Cut Red Tape That Is Keeping Immediate Families Apart
Currently, legal immigrants in America often have to wait years to be with husbands, wives, and minor children. As president, Mitt Romney will ensure that husbands, wives, and their minor children are brought together on a timely basis.
- Mitt Romney will speed the processing of applications by eliminating the red tape that is keeping immediate families apart.
- Mitt Romney will work with Congress to give legal permanent residents the same priority as citizens when applying to bring husbands, wives, and minor children to the United States.
- Mitt Romney will reallocate green cards to family of citizens and legal permanent residents.
Military Service
Mitt Romney believes that young illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children should have the chance to become permanent residents, and eventually citizens, by serving honorably in the United States military.
Recognize That Ending Illegal Immigration Is A Humanitarian Issue
Studies show that up to 95% of illegal immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border are brought here by “coyotes.” Unfortunately, these coyotes often abuse the people who hire them. Securing our borders and discouraging illegal immigration will dry up demand for coyotes and dry up the coyote market.
Video: Mitt Romney lays out strategy for immigration reform at the NALEO Conference
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Viva el chivo expiatorio una vez mas sobre la inmigracion a este pais en especial los “Ilegal aliens”. Año tras año, eleccion tras eleccion lo mismo de lo mismo… quien ofrece mas y mas conveniente para los “legal aliens” o “citizenship”. Obama prometio una reforma migratoria en su primer año, al igual como lo hizo George Bush el 2000 y tambien para su segunda eleccion el 2005 en conjuncion con Mc Cain. Ahora vuelven a la carga… El presidente Obama presionado por el empate politico con su contrincante Romney decide enviar una orden ejecutiva de “paro de deportacion” a estudiantes y jovenes por dos años elegibles a un posible “dream acts”. Y el candidate Romney contrataca con otra propuesta migratoria que al final es lo mismo de siempre “no soluciona nada el problema”… un paleativo mas como ya estamos acostumbrados.
Indudablemente Obama no cumplio su promesa, claro con la excusa de que primero eraa la solucion de la economia y la salud publica…. excusas que tambien lo repitio en su momento su antecesor. culpando siempre a la bancada opuesta. Y excusas que quiza volvamos a escuchar dentro de uno o dos años cuando jovenes y trabajadores honrados sigan siendo separados y deportados; mientras delincuentes y traficantes sigan cruzando las fronteras terrestres, maritimas y aereas a gran escala amparados por autoridades politicas de ambas partes fronterizas.
en una conversacion ayer con un disstinguido amigo platicamos algo de esto y di dos clases de rspuesta a la problematica migratoria. No solo a este pais sino al mundo entero. Tenemos dos formas de solucionar este problema:
1.- La divina.- Todos los hombres han sido creados iguales y con los mismos derechos y deberes, y la tierra fue formada sin fronteras; por lo tanto, deberia aprobarse un dream acts para los jovenes y una amnistia para todos los trabajadores honrados que no han incumplido en ningun crimen mas que cruzar el “rio grande”.
2.- la Humana.- La mas imperfecta e inhumana, pero preferida por la gran mayoria. en especial por la clase politica y empresarial y los “patriotas” (o nacionalistas; para mi significa la misma cosa) llevados por ese sentimiento “cavernicola” de territorialidad privada. Del cual menosprecian al que nacio en diferente lugar.
Definitivamente, quiza por influencia de mis padres el haber vivido en las epocas de John F. Kennedy,escuchar el sentimiento de la gente cuando lo asesinaron cobardemente supuestamente porque divulgo o condeno ciertos actos en contra de los derechos de este gran pais, tambien por haber escuchado su favoritismo hacia Jimmy carter he influencia de Bill clinton entonces mi tendencia sera hacia el partido democrata del cual Obama corre a su segunda eleccion. lDel Partido opositor solo escucho lo mismo de lo mismo, y son los mayores opositores a una reforma migratoria, a una reforma de salud, a un avance a una energia verde, y lo peor de todo siempre estan pendientes a ir a una nueva guerra. Con George Bush estabamos a un “pelo” de declararle la guerra a north korea e Iran… Imaginense no mas en que crisis hubiesemos estado si hubiesemos ido a ello…
No tengo la menor duda que aunque Obama incumplio su promesa y quiza la vuelva a incumplir si vuelve a ganar, aun asi considero la mejor opcion.
jerry