Fox News Sunday interviews during 2013: on Immigration

Chris Christie: I favor fixing a broken system

CHRISTIE: What I favor is fixing a broken system, and the fact is that everybody knows the system is broken. And what Congress needs to do is get to work, working with each other and the president to fix a broken system that's not serving our economy well, not serving our country well.

Lindsey Graham: Secure border now in place with comprehensive immigration

GRAHAM: We practically militarized the border. I have been hearing for years, "let's secure our border, let's regain our sovereignty." We have secured our border in a way I could not have imagined five years ago. This whole border security amendment, I think, is the most aggressive attempt to control the southern border and regain our sovereignty. This bill reduces our deficit by $890 billion. It is good for our economy. This bill is good for our national security. No one can get a green card until border security measures are up and running, until E-Verify is up and running controlling a job in America.

Lindsey Graham: New amnesty is tough and ends incoming illegals

GRAHAM: As to the 11 million [illegal immigrants here now], they will have an earned, hard pathway to citizenship. They have to get in the back of the line before they can become citizens. They can't cut in line. They have to pass two English proficiency exams. I reject the idea of becoming the Mideast or Europe where you have 11 million people with a legal status who can't be part of America. America is different than the Mideast and Europe. E pluribus unum, out of many, one. This is tough practical solution for our national security, for our economy and tough, practical solution to 11 million. And most importantly, if we do the bill, amnesty is the status quo. If we do this bill, there will be no third wave of illegal immigration.

Mike Lee: Secure border will take years or decades to achieve

GRAHAM: We practically militarized the border. I have been hearing for years, "let's secure our border, let's regain our sovereignty." We have secured our border in a way I could not have imagined five years ago. This whole border security amendment, I think, is the most aggressive attempt to control the southern border and regain our sovereignty. This bill reduces our deficit by $890 billion. It is good for our economy. This bill is good for our national security. No one can get a green card until border security measures are up and running, until E-Verify is up and running controlling a job in America.

Mike Lee: Comprehensive reform leaves 6 million illegals in US

GRAHAM: As to the 11 million [illegal immigrants here now], they will have an earned, hard pathway to citizenship. They have to get in the back of the line before they can become citizens. They can't cut in line. They have to pass two English proficiency exams. I reject the idea of becoming the Mideast or Europe where you have 11 million people with a legal status who can't be part of America. America is different than the Mideast and Europe. E pluribus unum, out of many, one. This is tough practical solution for our national security, for our economy and tough, practical solution to 11 million. And most importantly, if we do the bill, amnesty is the status quo. If we do this bill, there will be no third wave of illegal immigration.

Mike Lee: I will make the "gang of eight" into a "gang of nine"

GOMEZ: I am for the immigration reform bill. That's the "gang of eight" [who support bipartisan comprehensive reform]. I want to make it a "gang of nine." I hope Senator Warren joins me and makes it a "gang of ten."

Marco Rubio: Border control: 90% apprehension and 100% surveillance

RUBIO: It's important to understand, there is no one border. The border is broken into nine different sectors. In some sectors, that's probably being achieved today. But in others, it's not. At least three sectors are far from that number. And that's what the number needs to come up to. If [one sector] fails to reach our metric, then it will be turned over to a border commission made up of local officials from those states most impacted. They will have money set aside so they can solve it for those people themselves. So, we're confident it's achievable. But it's not just border security. E-Verify is part of this bill, a universal E-Verify. Another critical component is the entry/exit tracking system, because 40 percent of illegal immigrants are people that came legally and they overstayed. You have all three working together.

Marco Rubio: Not amnesty: 15-year wait, plus fee, minus federal benefits

RUBIO: [Illegal residents] don't get anything. What they get is the opportunity to apply for [citizenship]. They still have to pass the background checks; pay a registration fee; and they don't qualify for any federal benefits.

Q: Most people think once they have that status, even if it's called temporary, it's never going to get revoked.

RUBIO: Under the existing law today, if you are illegally in the US, you are not prohibited from getting citizenship. The only thing is, you have to go back to your home country, you have to wait 10 years. We're going to create an alternative that says, OK, you want to stay here, you have to wait more than 10 years, you have to be gainfully employed. It will be cheaper, faster and easier for people to go back home and wait 10 years than it will be to go through this process. And that's why it's not amnesty.

Richard Durbin: Our border with Mexico is strongest it's been in 40 years

Sen. CORNYN (R-TX): So much of [immigration reform] is regaining the public's confidence that the federal government is actually doing its job. So, until that confidence is restored on the basis of what the legislation provides, I would have difficulty supporting it.

Sen. DURBIN (D-IL): Our border with Mexico is the safest and strongest it's been in 40 years. We have invested billions of dollars into border enforcement. We're putting more money into border enforcement than we're putting into the FBI and the Secret Service and ATF and DEA combined. If we don't meet all the goals that we've set in years to come, we'll put more in more investment there.

Q: Is the 90% border apprehension rate a goal or a trigger?

DURBIN: Well, I think it's both. We're committed to it. Every Republican at the table said we've got to start with border security. I think we've kept the faith on that issue.

Rand Paul: Legal status, but not citizenship, for illegal immigrants

PAUL: Well, that's not the main part of my plan. The main part of my plan is trust but verify, that says we have to have border security. The amendment that I will add to the bipartisan plan will ensure that there is border security and that Congress gets to vote on that border security every year, in order for it to go forward. With regard to E-verify, it's not that I'm opposed to some sort of database check. For example, when you come into the country, I think the country should do a background check on you to find out if you are a felon or if there's a problem. So I'm not against any kind of checking, I just would prefer the government to be the policeman and not the businessman.

Jeb Bush: My plan is legalization, not self-deportation

BUSH: The difference is that we are suggesting that there be a path to legalization, that people that are here come out from the shadows. That is a far cry from telling people they have to go back to their home country. And the other thing I would say is that our proposal also says for children of illegal immigrants, those who can't come here illegally that were children, that they should have a path to citizenship on a far faster basis. The so-called "DREAM Act" kids.

Q: But in terms of the path to citizenship, that is self-deportation, correct?

BUSH: No, it is not self-deportation; people can stay here. 60% of the people that were granted a process of legalization and citizenship in 1987 did not apply for citizenship. They stayed as legal residents of the country.