During Monday night’s GOP presidential debate in Tampa, Fla., Romney was asked how he would address illegal immigration, and said he favored what he called “self-deportation.†Click below to find out more.
“The answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can’t find work here because they don’t have legal documentation to allow them to work here,†Romney said. “We’re not going to round them up.â€
Romney was responding to moderator Adam Smith of The Tampa Bay Times, who asked how the former Massachusetts governor could be in favor of illegal immigrants returning home and applying for citizenship while at the same time saying he does not want the U.S. government to have to hunt down illegal immigrants and deport them.
When pressed for details on his concept, Romney proposed implementing a system in which the government would issue a card that links to online federal immigration data, so employers will know whether a job-seeker is undocumented.
Those without cards would be pushed out of the job market and forced to leave the country, Romney reasoned.
“If people can’t get work here, they’re going to self-deport to a place where they can get work,” Romney said.
In 2008, the federal government experimented with a trial self-deportation program, according to The Associated Press, but the experiment was dropped after a few weeks had passed and only eight people volunteered.
Romney also softened his rigid opposition to the DREAM Act during the Florida debate, saying he would back the legislation if it focused on military service. He said in Iowa last month that he would veto the bill.
The DREAM Act, as currently written, gives a path to citizenship for youth who immigrated illegally as minors, provided they attend university or serve in the military.
