Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum blasted both Republicans and Democrats on immigration Thursday, saying his position was uniquely pro-worker.
“No issue demonstrates the divide between Washington and the rest of the country better than immigration,” Santorum said in a campaign video released prior to his immigration plan rollout at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. “Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Left want open borders because they see it as a way of getting political power. The establishment Republicans just see it as a way of lowering wages and increasing profits.”
The former senator took a break from touring Iowa’s 99 counties to unveil legislation in the nation’s capital as the immigration debate heats up, thanks to GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Santorum and Scott Walker are two of the Republican primary candidates who have stood in solidarity with Trump on the issue.
Santorum says that his plan will stand in direct contrast to Clinton’s, showing “workers of all races, genders and ethnicities that you are welcome to an America that will provide you with the opportunity to rise and work hard and obey the law.”
His plan includes implementing biometric tracking systems for every immigrant who enters the country to ensure they have not overstayed their visas, ending the practice of sanctuary cities, supporting Kate’s Law and ending the policy of allowing the release of illegal immigrants from prison because their home country won’t accept them. He would deny visas to any foreign countries that won’t take immigrant prisoners back.
The plan also includes limiting the number of legal immigrants who come into the country, so as not to take unskilled labor jobs from the 74 percent of American workers without college degrees. He would also overhaul the H1-B visa program so only the highest skilled workers remain eligible. For illegal immigrants currently working in the United States, Santorum would allow their employers to pay an annual fee to keep them here working as guest workers.
Santorum spoke of his Italian immigrant father, who was required to leave his family behind in order to come to the United States. The former Pennsylvania senator said that when he first asked his father if he resented America for making him leave his family, his father replied, “No, America was worth the wait.”
When asked about his beliefs on breaking up families with American-born children and illegal immigrant parents, Santorum replied that many mothers and fathers who are not illegal immigrants often go to jail for illegal offenses, so that cases of breaking immigration offenses should be no different, adding, “The federal government has to end legislation that encourages people to break the law.”
In his second presidential campaign, Santorum has been pitching “blue-collar conservatism.” He emphasized his plan “is not anti-immigrant” but “pro-worker,” focusing on those who are most affected by waves of new workers, such as recent immigrants, minorities and younger workers. He argues that amnesty plans set forward by the Democrats harm workers.
“Democrats like Hillary Clinton say they are for the American worker yet they demand amnesty and huge increases in the number of immigrants for one overriding reason, votes, which leads to political power,” Santorum said. “They have no interest in fixing our broken immigration system.”
