Gingrich Mocks Romney’s ‘Self-Deportation’ Policy
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(Image Credit: Paul Sancya/AP Photo)
ABC News’ Elicia Dover and Matthew Jaffe report:
MIAMI – Newt Gingrich today mocked rival Mitt Romney’s notion that a “self-deportation” policy with undocumented immigrants could work in this country and blewing off the idea with a dismissive laugh.
“How close are you to breaking up laughing out loud?” Gingrich said to Univision correspondent Jorge Ramos, who moderated a forum this morning. “I think you have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatic – you know, $20 million a year of no work – to have a fantasy this far from reality.”
“For Romney to believe that somebody’s grandmother is going to be so cut off that she is going to self deport. I mean, this is an Obama-level fantasy,” Gingrich added. “He certainly shows no concern for the humanity of people who are already here.”
Asked by Ramos about the DREAM Act, the Democrats’ proposal to provide a path to citizenship for some undocumented children of immigrants who attend college or serve in the military, Gingrich reiterated his support for the military component, but not the scholastic one.
According to a new poll released this morning by ABC News and Univision, Gingrich, fresh off his resounding victory in last week’s South Carolina primary, trails Romney by a wide margin among Latino Republicans in Florida: 49 percent to 23 percent.
The advantage that Romney enjoys stems in large part from the support that the former Massachusetts governor receives from the sizable Cuban-American population here after he was bolstered by some key endorsements from Cuban-American lawmakers in Congress such as Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
The former House Speaker is also way behind President Obama among Latinos nationwide in a hypothetical general election match-up with 70 percent of the Hispanic vote going to the president, compared to only 22 percent for Gingrich.
“You would lose the general election with these numbers,” Ramos told him.
Gingrich claimed that his position on issues like job creation, Cuba and Latin American policies were more in line with Hispanic aspirations than Obama’s positions.
“I have a hunch that by this fall we may do better than any Republican except maybe Reagan,” replied Gingrich.
“My goal would be to break the majority,” he said.
Romney will participate in the Univision forum later this afternoon. At one point Ramos asked Gingrich if he would consider Romney as a running mate if he were to win the GOP nomination.
“I think the idea to Mitt of being the vice president on my ticket would be the sort of thing that would drive him back to being a recluse and hiding from public life for a while,” Gingrich quipped in response, to laughter from the audience here.
Matthew Jaffe is covering the 2012 campaign for ABC News and Univision.
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Self Deportation WILL NOT WORK.
The ones here illegally laugh in the face of US citizens. Romney needs to get real.
Posted by: Mary | January 25, 2012, 12:06 pm 12:06 pm
If they can’t get a job because employers have to use E-Verify, and they can’t get any government handouts like welfare, food stamps, free housing, paid medical, etc., then they will either leave on their own or won’t come here at all. No money…..no commie….common sense folks!
Posted by: Connie | January 25, 2012, 12:09 pm 12:09 pm
E-Verify will be the best tool to stop the Illegal invasion. It will also stop identity theft. Employers can check with a Government site,to make sure the identification employees provide are legitimate before they hire. No jobs, no money,no welfare and they will leave. Simple. Why are Mexicans running away from their country’s problems ? Fight and die for change and stop sponging off of us.
Posted by: stymie | January 25, 2012, 12:22 pm 12:22 pm
Plenty of money to be had cutting Romney’s grass and cleaning his homes.
Posted by: KJM1968 | January 25, 2012, 12:25 pm 12:25 pm
Well, that was, after all, a ridiculous thing to say, on Romney’s part…….really.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | January 25, 2012, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm
I wish they would get back to the issues. I want to hear what they will do and how. I do not want hear anymore about the character of each. Enough is enough and lets get back to telling out load at the lime light of thier campaining the faults of Obama and how they will fix them if elected. It has become boring and they have become out of touch with the Republican party. Lets get on with campaining and doing it against Obama not each other.
Posted by: Jim Rod | January 25, 2012, 12:59 pm 12:59 pm
Gingrich will say whatever he perceives his audience wants to hear. He’s the one with the unclear plan on how to deal with illegal immigration. His 7 points don’t even come close to a rational solution. This is one of Newt’s most disappointing issues. Just like Connie said above, most people who can’t get a job (E-Verify) or public benefits (SAVE) will leave the way they came here. And they will be more equipped to make the trip home after their wages earned illegally than the were before they decided to come! If it entices illegal immigration with the promise of jobs and the reasonable expectation that you won’t be deported if you stay out of trouble, how would doing the opposite not dissuade people from staying here illegally? This is no fantasy.
Posted by: Menger | January 25, 2012, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm
Are they all kidding?? Just enforce the law and let all else take its course. We have to enforce our Laws!! Not debate them any further!!
Posted by: Skip Tamm | January 25, 2012, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm
Chuck Todd of NBC is a moron. After the debate, he acted like attrition (self-deportation) is some unknown concept. What the hell is wrong with the media and ignorant voters? Gingrich is a *******.
If the drooling masses nominate Gingrich, I’ll vote for Obama. If America is destined to go down the Sonoran sewer, it ain’t gonna be under a porker like Gingrich.
Posted by: ZOO | January 25, 2012, 1:16 pm 1:16 pm
Self-deportation, generally known as “attrition through enforcement”, is virtually universally accepted as the best approach toward illegal immigration by those organizations that believe in strict immigration policies.
That includes Numbersusa and Center for Immigration Studies.
Of course, left wingers and other intellectual lightweights dismiss the concept. So it is no surprise that a fool like Newt Gingrich does likewise.
Posted by: lance sjogren | January 25, 2012, 1:17 pm 1:17 pm
By the way, if self-deportation doesn’t work how come the most reliable sources who assess the total number of illegal aliens in the country indicate the illegal alien population has dropped by a total of about 1-2 million in the last several years. Did these illegal aliens all suddenly get abducted by space aliens?
Posted by: lance sjogren | January 25, 2012, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
Self Deportation? A sure fire and cost free way to rid the country of illegal aliens. Do institute eVerify to prevent working in the United States, do institute RealID to prevent access to social services. When work is denied, social services denied, then self-deportation will work and it will work quickly. Severe penalties will have to be levied on those who would employ non-Citizens, but our goal of an alien free America will have been achieved. The course of action is straightforward: if we can not persuade them, coerce them, then we will have to force them. Set the scenario for self-deportation and we’ll never have to get to the force them stage but know that no illegal alien is to remain on my land, on my roads, in my school, or in my pocket.
Posted by: HillClimber | January 25, 2012, 1:27 pm 1:27 pm
When construction crashed in 2007-2008 alot of them DID leave becasue the work they did no longer existed. I know because my husband was in construction and he noticed the exodus. THere are still miliions here and they are not going to “self-deport”. ROmney just keeps proving that he does not have a clue about the real world.
Posted by: pksk531 | January 25, 2012, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
I agree 100PERCENT with HILLCLIMBER let’s get E VERIFY going, AND ALL OF THOSE OTHER PROGRAMS SO WE CAN TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK FROM ILLEGAL ALIENS .
Our young people cannot find entry level positions anymore, why? Because some illegal is taking a job from an american teen. not to mention the fact that some of these companies encourage these people to bring more of their families over so they can exploit them too. I hate when you go to a fast food resturant and there is 15 latino’s and none speak english. i went to a burger joint and ordered a Whapper (cannot say the real name for obvious reasons) I GOT A CHICKEN SANDWICH
WE NEED ENGLISH AS OUR 1 AND ONLY DECLARED LANGUAGE AND NOTHING PRINTED IN ANY FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Posted by: MARK PEAL | January 25, 2012, 1:52 pm 1:52 pm
I don’t know what Gingrich is talking about unless he’s after votes. Self deportation is already working in Arizona, Georgia and other states with tough laws against illegal aliens. Thousands of illegal aliens left these states once the laws were passed. Why do you think Obama and the open border crowd are spending millions of dollars fighting these laws. Put in strong E-verify laws and put an end to all the freebies and illegal aliens WILL self deport.
Posted by: Justie | January 25, 2012, 2:07 pm 2:07 pm
pksk531 said:
“THere are still miliions here and they are not going to “self-deport”.”
Why not? You acknowledged that many already have. If illegals are unable to hold jobs here because they are required to prove legal status in order to get a job, why would they not self-deport like those others you already mentioned?
And what is your alternative? Do you believe that the solution is amnesty like the radical leftists and Newt Gingrich believe?
Posted by: lance sjogren | January 25, 2012, 2:28 pm 2:28 pm
Gingrich is a slick talking Globalist traitor no different than Obama. He needs to get hammered in the primaries.
Posted by: John Bowman | January 25, 2012, 3:33 pm 3:33 pm
Cannot understand what is difficult to understand about self-deportation…….except the title.
It is just common sense if they come here for jobs and benefits….and jobs and benefits no longer are offered here…. they will and do return home. Their “home” needs their help!
Interesting that we have created almost exactly the number of new jobs the last three years as the number of LEGAL immigrants and work permits we have invited to join us. Any wonder the jobless numbers seem stuck?
Posted by: Trebaryar | January 25, 2012, 8:30 pm 8:30 pm
That is why we need to vote for santorum. Get the illegals out of here.
Posted by: jeff | January 25, 2012, 9:01 pm 9:01 pm
I agree with all on the E-Verify.I can not understand why the (so called news )people act as if it is something new,They don’t understand how it would work?? It is So simple and Easy to understand.If you have No job,You can not recieve food stamps. What else is there to do? If it is mandatory nation wide they can not just move on to another state and find work.They will have no choice but to leave.It is must better then raids and round-ups. We have all heard of the Packing Plants and Resturants who have had their workforce picked up and the American workers who have lined up for those jobs. E-Verify is accurate and Free.So Why is it not in place?A lot of companies have already started to use it on their own. Anyone against this is Not for the american worker finding a job that is for sure. NumbersUSA is a great place to find information on Who is For or Against it. Check it out for yourself then Vote accordingly!
Posted by: Karen Verloove | January 26, 2012, 1:46 am 1:46 am
Self deportation is a valid concept. If you take away jobs and benefits many illegals will go home. They did, after all, have a way to get here to begin with.
Beyond that, lower immigration, BOTH legal and illegal would greatly help the country except employers. Consider the worker visa programs such as J-1, H-1B, H-2B, L-1, OPT. They all have a few things in common. The participants come overwhelmingly from low wage countries (forget higher wage Japan or Western Europe), and the foreign workers are tied to employers who sponsor them. From an employers view, what’s not to like? Cheap indentured workers from low wage countries who have many obstacles to working for someone else.
When you consider employment, education and health costs, use of govt services, terrorism, disease, language issues, population congestion, etc. immigration has truly become a loser for the entire country except employers!!
Posted by: PROUSA | January 26, 2012, 7:35 am 7:35 am