Ohio Gov. John Kasich stuck by his desire for a path to legalization for illegal immigrants in the United States during a Q&A with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.
He described the idea of deporting millions of illegal immigrants from the U.S. as unacceptable.
“The idea that we’re going to pick these people up and ship them out is unbelievable,” Kasich said. “It’s just not acceptable in America.”
Kasich, eighth in the Washington Examiner‘s power rankings, did not explicitly rule out a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants during his remarks to the Hispanic group, but said he would be satisfied with a path to legalized status for such immigrants.
The governor’s views stand in stark contrast to the platform GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who favors deporting all illegal immigrants residing in the U.S.
The governor said his ideal reform would involve securing the border, cleaning up the visa system, and allowing “law-abiding” illegal immigrants to stay in the United States. Kasich said he believes such immigration reform legislation can pass the Congress as its composed today.
