State of Massachusetts Archives: on Immigration

Kerry Healey: A nation of immigrants, but also a nation of laws

Ayanna Pressley: America needs to be immigrant friendly

Charlie Baker: Adopt Secure Communities and REAL ID standards

[The REAL ID Act implements the following:

• New standards for state-issued driver licenses.
• Changing visa limits for temporary workers
• Introducing "delivery bonds"
• Tightening the laws for asylum and deportation of terrorists.
• Waiving laws that interfere with construction of physical barriers at the borders.]

Don Berwick: Comprehensive reform with pathway to citizenship

A: "It is time for Congress to step up and pass comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers. I also support the Trust Act in Massachusetts, introduced by Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Carl Sciortino."

Gabriel Gomez: Make the Senate "Gang of Eight" a "Gang of Nine"

Gabriel Gomez: Pathway to citizenship should include learning English

Gomez, the son of Colombian immigrants, said he supports a pathway to citizenship that would include things like learning English.

Winslow said he would make legal immigration easier, secure the border, deport criminals and encourage immigration by educated immigrants.

Brian Herr: Seal the borders to prevent illegal entry

Brian Herr: Enforce existing laws including penalizing employers

Christy Mihos: Illegal immigration is illegal--they cost Massachusetts $1B

MIHOS: Illegal immigration is illegal. And they’re not immigrants, they’re illegal immigrants, they’re here illegally and INS tells us that by the year 2010 that’s going to cost this Commonwealth $1 billion in cost to deal with this issue. Kerry Healey in November 2005 said they should all go back basically, but in May 2006 she’s with George Bush that these people pay taxes, they should stay here.

Christy Mihos: Dems want immigrants votes; GOP wants their cheap labor

MIHOS: Lets be clear about illegal immigration -- the Democrats want their votes, the Republicans want cheap labor. That’s what this is all about and that’s why we have gridlock and that’s why the federal government won’t do anything and that’s why the state government won’t do anything. How many corporations under the Romney/Healey administration have been fined, or investigated [for hiring illegal immigrants]? Zero.

Christy Mihos: No licenses for illegals; felony for driving without license

MIHOS: Let me put it this way, when I’m elected governor what I will work with the legislature, and one of the first bills I will pass is I believe anybody riding around without a license, without a registration, without insurance, I want to change that from a misdemeanor to a felony. We’ve got to secure our borders and yes, I will ask the state police to enforce that, I will ask them to work with INS. This is a huge issue for the Commonwealth.

Deval Patrick: In-state tuition ok for illegals; focus on employers

PATRICK: [Yes, but] this is one issue where I think both sides have a point. The folks on the other side of the question from where I am say we should only reward people who play by the rules and they’re right. I understand that immigration is a serious problem. But people are not coming here for in-state tuition, they’re coming here for jobs. We need to come down hard on employers.

Deval Patrick: Drivers licenses for illegals, for security and safety

PATRICK: I support that because of the security issues. I want to know the names and addresses and faces of the people who are here. The people who are driving on the roads, I want the insurance issues dealt with, I want to know the people on the road know the rules of the road. Let’s be clear, people are not coming to Massachusetts to get a drivers license, they’re coming to get jobs. The first thing we have to do is secure our borders.

Grace Ross: Illegal immigrants pay taxes like the rest of us

ROSS: In fact, immigrants who work here pay taxes here. Most of the taxes we’re all paying are property taxes and things like that, they pay all of those things. The issue is why there isn’t enough money for tuition in general. We’ve listened to all these stories, oh I’m going to cut a little bit here, or oh, we’re going to roll back the income tax. We’re blaming immigrants for state policy that’s hurt all of us.

Grace Ross: Illegal immigration is only an issue because of jobs

ROSS: Well it’s funny, of course it’s about jobs. This issue never gets raised except when there aren’t enough jobs and the jobs aren’t paying enough. So what we really need to look at is what’s happened to our economy. Cities and towns are starved for money. We can’t afford our rents. Then we end up fighting about some immigrants.

Kerry Healey: Opposes in-state tuition for illegal immigrants

HEALEY: A lot of people are struggling to pay for college for their kids. If we have enough money to give the equivalent of a $40,000 scholarship to someone who is not in the country legally than we should use that money to lower tuition for the kids who are citizens who have been paying taxes into this system. I think its wrong to give in- state tuition to illegal immigrants and I will continue to oppose that.

Kerry Healey: Urges Attorney General to investigate hiring illegals

HEALEY: You know it’s good that you ask that question, we have been urging the Attorney General to do just that. That’s his job as AG, to get in there and do that and we’ve been asking him to do that.

MIHOS: So zero.

Kerry Healey: Opposes issuing licenses to illegal immigrants

HEALEY: I do oppose issuing licenses to illegal immigrants because that is your most basic form of identification here in America. If you have that card you can get on an airplane, you can go to another state, you can disappear into society. I could not disagree more with Deval Patrick on this topic. I think that that drivers license has real meaning and it’s very dangerous to give it to illegal immigrants.