New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday that he has no plan for how to deal with the millions of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. should he become president.
When asked if he would grant legal status, the forerunner for amnesty, to the millions of undocumented aliens, Christie honestly said that he didn’t know.
“I don’t know,” Christie said. “There are not enough law enforcement officers, local – local, county, state, and federal combined, to forcibly deport 11 to 12 million people.”
This a departure from a previous statement Christie made in 2010 to ABC when he endorsed amnesty and had his temporary Senate appointment Jeff Chiesa vote for the Rubio-Schumer comprehensive immigration reform that included a path to citizenship.
Despite his lack of a plan, he used the question to swipe at fellow Republican presidential contender Donald Trump’s hawkish comments on immigration and his plan to build a wall on the border of Mexico.
“I mean, and this is like building a 2,000-mile wall across the border that Mexico is going to pay for. It sounds really good. You pound your chest, but then the question is, how? How are you going to do it?” Christie said.
The New Jersey governor did say he is willing to increase the number of immigration and customs law enforcement agents.
As far as preventing more illegal aliens from immigrating to the U.S., Christie said he would mandate businesses use E-Verify, which would monitor the work status of workers.
“I think the way to do this is E-Verify. If folks knew that they weren’t going to get jobs, they would not come,” Christie said. “The folks that are here now, we’re going to have to come to a solution on that that’s going to involve using E-Verify as well.”
Watch the full interview below:
