Romney on Offense

May 18, 2007 — -- Provisions in the recently proposed comprehensive immigration reform bill amount to a "form of amnesty," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told ABC News Friday, explaining his strong opposition to the legislation.

The proposed bill "gives people who are here illegally a very substantial advantage over those who've been standing in line in their home country," the presidential hopeful said.

"It's really unfair to those that play by the rules," Romney added, "the millions of people around the world that want to come to this country who have skill and experience and perhaps speak English, they're told 'No, the 12 million who are here all get to stay.'"

Romney's comments came as part of a freewheeling interview for the ABC News shuffle podcast on a host of topics including abortion, Iraq and evangelical Christians calling Mormonism "a cult."

Much of Romney's objection to the immigration bill -- backed by GOP primary rival Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and President Bush -- focuses on the creation of the so-called Z visa.

"I don't know whether the conferees in this discussion really focused on the fact that, at least as we understand it today, that we are authorizing a new visa class, the Z visa which would say to everybody who's here illegally that they can stay indefinitely," Romney told ABC News.

Last December, the one-term governor of Massachusetts was criticized for hypocrisy when his strong opposition to illegal immigration was seen in light of the disclosure that his estate uses a landscaping company that employed illegal immigrants.

Romney dismissed the controversy, saying, "When you hire companies to work at your home or to build your home, you're actually prohibited by law from going to the companies employees and asking to see their documents."

Romney also addressed the continuing question of his Mormon faith and its role in the election.