George Pataki on Immigration Republican NY Governor

Deport only criminal aliens; but end sanctuary cities

Step two is, we have to stop releasing criminals into the communities. If you are charged with a crime as an illegal alien, you should either be in jail or be deported. You should not released, as the Obama administration has done. Of course, we should outlaw sanctuary cities and hold them responsible.

But we can't ignore 11 million people who are here. What are we going to do? We're not going to send them back, despite somebody saying we're going to drag kids out of classrooms and send them back.

What I would do is require those who want to have legal status, not citizenship, come forward, acknowledg

Birthright citizenship is ok; don't deport those kids

PATAKI: I don't think we should tell children born in America that we're going to send them back. The way to avoid that is to have an intelligent immigration policy where we know who is coming here, why they are coming here, so we don't have this flood of people coming for the wrong reasons

Practical policy: legal residency after 200 hours of service

George Pataki laid out what he calls are "practical" policy solutions for the issue of securing the southern U.S. border, as well as what to do with the millions of illegal immigrants already living in the country. Pataki's immigration proposals include allowing illegal immigrants to obtain the status of legal resident if they come forward publicly, have no criminal history, and commit to 200 hours of community service.

Immigrants come to work, not for government handouts

They say we are anti-immigrant! We the proud children, grandchildren, and descendants of immigrants know that immigration has and will continue to enhance the greatness of this country.

Let's send that party a clear message. Unlike them, we don't believe newcomers to this Country come so they can get a Government handout. We know they come to work, to strive, to build a better life for their families. And we welcome all who come here legally.

They say we are against the middle class. This too is nonsense. Everyone here understands it is the men and women who go to work, pay their bills, and follow the rules that are the backbone of this country. We are the party of the middle class. They are the party of the past. WE must be the party of the future! I KNOW that with the policies we believe in, we can change the world.

No executive orders on immigration

Share costs of legal immigration between states & federal.

The Governors urge Congress to consider the following principles regarding immigration policies.
• The decision to admit immigrants is a federal one that carries with it a firm federal commitment to shape immigration policy within the parameters of available resources we as a nation are determined to provide.
• The fiscal impact of immigration decisions must be addressed by the federal government. The states, charged with implementing federal policy, have shared and are sharing in the costs; however, there should be no further shift of costs to the states.
• A basic responsibility of the federal government is to collect and disseminate timely and reliable statistical information on immigration and its consequences for the United States.
• Federal immigration policies should ensure that new immigrants do not become a public charge to federal, state, or local governments.
• The federal government must provide adequate information to and consult with states on issues concerning immigration decisions that affect the states.
• States should not have to incur significant costs in implementing federal laws regarding immigration status as a condition of benefits.

The Governors urge the following regarding Legalization and Naturalization:
• States require maximum flexibility in determining and allocating resources to meet the needs of newly legalized aliens.
• The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) must be diligent in its efforts to ensure that felons are not naturalized and being given the benefits of citizenship rather than being deported.
• The naturalization process should be streamlined to be more efficient and accessible to eligible applicants wishing to become citizens, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof.
• The INS must take aggressive action to eliminate the backlog of naturalization applications, which is now approximately 800,000 nationwide.

Federal government should deal with criminal repatriation.

[Regarding illegal immigration], the Governors continue to call on the federal government to negotiate and renegotiate prisoner transfer treaties to expedite the transfer of criminal aliens in the United States who are subject to deportation or removal. The negotiations for such agreements should focus on:
• ensuring that the transferred prisoners serve the balance of their state-imposed prison sentence;
• removing any requirement that the prisoners consent to be transferred to their countries of origin;
• structuring the process to require that the prisoners serve the remainder of their original prison sentence if they return to the United States; and
• considering economic incentives to encourage countries of origin to take back their criminal citizens.

Additionally, the Governors believe the federal government should:
• increase the use of interior repatriation with countries contiguous to the United States;
• place INS officials in state and local facilities for early identification of potentially deportable aliens - nearer the point of their illegal entry - to ensure formal deportation prior to release; and
• upon the request of a state Governor, place INS officers in state courts to assist in the identification of criminal aliens pending criminal prosecution.

English immersion over bilingual education.

[The Republican Main Street Partnership supports giving priority to] examining new ways to increase the English fluency of limited English proficient students. Currently, priority is given to instruction programs that provide for bilingual education, which combines proficiency in the studentís native language with English instruction. Recently, however, education research has suggested that English immersion -- not bilingual instruction -- may be the most effective way to help students become proficient in English. Native language requirements in current law must change to reflect this reality and new instruction methods must be pursued with an eye toward regular evaluation and improved English language acquisition.