Mitt Romney: Romney Sags in Florida As Critics Blast Lack of Leadership on Immigration

June 18, 2007 -- Smooth talking Mitt Romney is back in the Sunshine State today just days after one of Florida’s leading Republicans blasted him for failing to offer a clear plan for immigration reform. In a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, Republican National Committee general chair Mel Martinez said Romney is “wrong” and “falling short” on immigration reform, saying, “it's been too easy for too many people in the Senate and outside the Senate to simply criticize and find fault….but at the end of the day, what is your solution? What is your answer?” [McClatchy Newspapers, 6/9/07]

Martinez’s criticism comes as Romney has been tying himself in knots trying to distance himself from his real record on immigration and smooth talk the voters into ignoring his lack of new ideas for addressing the issue. Romney rarely misses an opportunity to slam the current immigration reform bill as amnesty “despite the fact that last year he was calling the bill, then before the Senate, ‘quite different’ from amnesty.” [Rocky Mountain News, 6/5/07] Romney claims to support allowing undocumented workers “to apply to become permanent residents but opposes current legislation that would allow them to do just that.” [Palm Beach Post, 5/25/07] Meanwhile, Romney rattles off a list of immigration reforms he would support, but never mentions that they are all actually included in the current immigration bill. [Miami Herald, 5/25/07]

No wonder the latest Quinnipiac poll shows Romney lagging in fourth place among Republican presidential candidates, with the support of just eight percent of Florida Republicans. [Newsmax.com, 6/8/07]

“Florida voters are rejecting Mitt Romney’s smooth talk and flip-flops on immigration reform because they want a real leader who offers solutions to the challenges facing our country, not a blatant panderer who offers nothing but cheap applause lines,” said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. “Romney still doesn’t understand that real leaders don’t smooth talk their way around a problem, they offer real solutions and a clear vision for the future.”
Mitt Romney Real Record on Immigration

November 2005: Romney Supports McCain-Bush Immigration Bill, Saying They Are “Quite Different” From Amnesty. According to the Boston Globe, in November 2005 Romney spoke “approvingly of efforts by McCain and Bush to solve the nation's immigration crisis, calling them ‘reasonable proposals.’” In the November 2005 interview, “Romney described immigration proposals by McCain and others as ‘quite different’ from amnesty, because they required illegal immigrants to register with the government, work for years, pay taxes, not take public benefits, and pay a fine before applying for citizenship. ‘That's very different than amnesty, where you literally say, 'OK, everybody here gets to stay,'' Romney said in the interview. ‘It's saying you could work your way into becoming a legal resident of the country by working here without taking benefits and then applying and then paying a fine.’" [Boston Globe, 3/16/07]

March 2006: Romney Supports A “Path to Citizenship,” Opposes “Rounding Up” Undocumented Workers. “Gov. Mitt Romney expressed support yesterday for an immigration program that places large numbers of illegal residents on the path toward citizenship… ‘I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country,’ Romney said. ‘[T]hose that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship, as they would from their home country.’” [Lowell Sun, 3/30/06]

December 2006: Romney Caught Using Undocumented Workers At His Own Home. “A lawn service used for several years by Gov. Mitt Romney, who is considering a run for president, employed illegal immigrants to work on the grounds of his suburban home, according to a published report. The Boston Globe said it interviewed in Spanish four current and former employees of Community Lawn Service with a Heart, and all but one who said they had worked on Romney’s property said they were in the country illegally. The employees told the newspaper the company’s owner, Ricardo Saenz, never asked them to show documents on their immigration status, which is required by federal law.” [Boston Globe, 12/1/06]

May 2007: Romney Opposes Immigration Bill, Even Though It Includes Everything He Supports. “The record shows Romney repeatedly has demanded stronger border security. A campaign ad calls for tamper-proof identification cards. And in a debate last week, he said illegal immigrants need to go back to their home country and ''get in line'' before they can become citizens. ‘That's exactly what's on the table. All of those things are part of the immigration package,’ said Marshall Fitz, spokesman for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a nonpartisan organization of lawyers and professors. ‘Romney and the other candidates who continue to beat their chests against this legislation are just playing to the conservative base.’” [Miami Herald, 5/25/07]

June 2007: Romney Now Calls Bill Amnesty. “Romney's response to the bill has varied with his audience. Most of his criticism has focused on the so-called Z-visa, a document proposed for registering the estimated 12 million illegal aliens in the country. Last month in South Carolina, home to the type of social conservatives Romney is courting, he said, ‘I think we should not call it the 'Z' visa; we should call it the 'A' visa, because it's amnesty and that's what it stands for.’ Yet a week later in Florida, he said, "There are some who get involved in whether it is technically amnesty or not and I'm not really trying to define what is technically amnesty. I'll let the lawyers do that." [AP, 6/4/07]

Source: DNC

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