Martha Coakley on Immigration

End purgatorial status quo with penalties then citizenship

A distinction should be made between hardened criminals here illegally and those whose only crime is immigrating without going through proper channels, she said, though, "I think there have to be some penalties involved" for those who have broken the law in coming into the country illegally.

Violent criminals and drug dealers should be deported, but the federal government "doesn't have the ability to deport" every person in this country who is here illegally, she said. "As attorney general, I have gone after the companies that have exploited workers," and getting employers to pay fair wages helps American citizens compete in the marketplace as well, she said.