[M. Thatcher]

given the fact that they’ve been law-abiding citizens for 25 years.

And there's the fatal flaw of Newt's "argument."

[Lady Lucky]

I agree on this point, he should have said “otherwise law-abiding” or “like law-abiding citizens.”

Technically they are breaking the law every day they are here illegally. I don’t like hearing it glossed over, even if he does have but a 30-second window to speak.

However, many (e.g., many wives and children) may have had no practical alternative but to come here when commanded by the head of their household.

I think if welfare recipients can be reviewed for workfare fitness on a case-by-case basis, illegal residents can also. And it would probably be better if this were done by the state rather than the federal government; indeed the welfare/workfare requirements are applied on a county level in my state. But certainly it is feasible and the alternative of mass deportation is not.

[Political Junkie Too]

A better word would have been "resident." I wouldn't dismiss the whole answer because he misspoke one word here.

-PJ