The Boston Globe: on Immigration

Bill Weld: More H-1B visas; keep more foreign grads & entrepreneurs

Start with the economic arguments, which are overwhelming. Our high-tech visa backlog is driving Microsoft and Facebook jobs to Dublin and Vancouver. Our rules on foreign graduates are sending young people home who would rather stay and work here. Instead of benefiting from our beacon of freedom, we are literally educating our competition, at the expense of US innovation and exports.

We have been just as shortsighted when it comes to attracting foreign entrepreneurs: Our system lacks a start-up visa for those seeking to found companies here.

Meanwhile, our annual caps on the number of all kinds of visas, from H-1B (specialty occupation) visas to permanent resident visas, are unrealistic. Many people become frustrated by the multiyear delays and give up their dream of trying to make a contribution here.

Bill Weld: Current system is "de facto legalization" for 11 million

A principal argument against a probationary legal status (a status that has not yet ripened into a permanent right to stay) for millions of currently undocumented workers is that it creates "second-class citizens." But any type of status is better than the shadowy non-status they have now.

Kerry Healey: Called for deportation in’05; now says can’t deport them all

Healey also appeared to soften her previous position on undocumented immigrants. “If there are people here who have the potential to become good productive American citizens, who are going to pay taxes and obey the laws, let’s figure out a way of figuring out who they are and perhaps allowing them to stay under some circumstances,“ she said. ”We have to deal with the people who are here,“ she added. ”We can’t deport them all.

In November, Healey took a harder line, saying flatly that undocumented immigrants and their children should be deported. “They are illegal immigrants, who need to be returned to the countries from which they came,” she said.

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

I support legal immigration. Our nation was built by men and women seeking a better life. In America, if you play by the rules, if you work hard, you are limited only by your dreams. But, unfortunately, not everyone comes here legally. There are some foreigners who arrive on our shores without going through the normal channels. As much as we may sympathize with their desire to be here, they are violating federal law.

Kerry Healey: Illegal immigrants are breaking law and have no entitlements

Dianne Feinstein: $127M for INS to reduce immigrant visa backlog

George W. Bush: $500M to cut INS application time to 6 months

’’We will bring to the INS a new standard of service and a culture of respect,’’ Bush said. The new spending, to be doled out over five years, is the latest part of an INS overhaul plan that Bush’s campaign believes will resonate with Latino voters. ‘’We’ve got an INS that is too bureaucratic, too stuck in the past,’’ he said.

Last week, Bush announced that he wants to split the INS into two agencies: one for legitimate immigrants and one for border enforcement. He also proposed allowing relatives of permanent residents to visit the US while their own immigration papers are being processed.