Supports a path to legalization for illegal immigrants that includes learning English and paying fines; voted for fence along Mexican border.The Obama summary on immigration is identical except with this addition:
toughen penalties for hiring illegal immigrants;However, the NYT didn't go into the position on H-1b expansion these candidates have proposed.
According to Americans for Better Immigration, Clinton has earned an F, McCain has earned an F- and Obama has shared Clinton's rather abysmal record.
Basically, the Republicans are acting as an employers lobby—in an election where it appears they have relatively little to offer employers. The Democrats are retaining an important card in the immigration game.
However, the card of employer sanctions is substantial. The existing fines for employer sanctions at up to $25,000 per violation could easily run into hundreds of billions of dollars. That could provide the germ of some real alternatives to amnesty if Democrats were to get serious about addressing immigration issues.
