Romney is not and has never been proamnesty.
He was tough on illegal immigration even in his 1994 race.
He vetoed in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
He came out against the Z visa amnesty immediately.
He is tough enough to be endorsed by Tancredo and Joe Arapaho.
To group him with the advocate and author of McCain-Kennedy is completely mixing in the wheat and chaff.
Romney’s position summary is laid out here:
http://www.mittromney.com/Issues/immigration
Stop Illegal Immigration
Secure The Border. Follow through on Congressional commitment to build a physical and technological fence along the southern border, and secure other points of entry.
Implement An Enforceable Employer Verification System. Issue a biometrically-enabled and tamperproof card to non-citizens and create a national database for non-citizens so employers can easily verify their legal status in this country.
Reject Amnesty. Do not give amnesty or any special pathway to those who have come to this country illegally.
Punish Sanctuary Cities. Cut back federal funding to cities that are “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants and refuse to comply with federal law or aid federal law enforcement.
Improve Interior Enforcement. Provide resources to enforce immigration laws throughout the nation, and crackdown on employers who continue to hire illegals with stiffer fines and penalties.
Encourage Legal Immigration. Streamline the system to recruit and retain skilled workers and welcome the best and the brightest from around the world to our universities.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: “I was at the San Diego border and met with our Border Patrol agents. They told me that more than a half of those that try and come across those fences are able to do so. They said there’s no way to stop them at the border, unless you close down the magnets. And the magnets are sanctuary cities and having employers sign people up that have come here illegally to do work here. You have to end sanctuary cities. You have to cut back on federal funding to cities that continue to call themselves sanctuary cities and welcome people in, as New York has done. And you have to say to employers that hire people illegally, ‘That’s also going to be sanctioned.’ This is the way we’re going to have to finally end it. And the other key point is this, which is having amnesty and saying to individuals, as the mayor has said, if you come here and you’re willing to work here and pay taxes, we’ll sign you up. That’s not the right message. We’ve got to enforce the law, welcoming legal immigration but ending illegal immigration.” (Fox News, Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, Durham, NH, 9/5/07)
Three Massachusetts Cities Declared Themselves “Sanctuary” Cities. “The Massachusetts cities of Cambridge, Somerville, and Orleans, which to varying degrees had declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. Since 1985, Cambridge has instructed city officials not to involve themselves in enforcement of federal immigration laws.” [Boston Globe, 8/15/07]
“As governor, Romney never directly addressed the issue of sanctuary cities.” [Boston Globe, 8/15/07]
Romney’s Initiative to Deal with Sanctuary Cities Emerged 3 Weeks Before Leaving Office, Never Implemented. “Regarding sanctuary cities, [Romney spokesman Kevin] Madden said yesterday: ‘Governor Romney worked out an agreement with the federal government to deputize state troopers to enforce immigration laws in Massachusetts, in an effort to negate local sanctuary city policies and the lax enforcement of existing laws.’ … That state trooper initiative, signed by Romney three weeks before leaving office, was largely ridiculed as grandstanding by critics who said he was burnishing his conservative credentials for a presidential run. The troopers never underwent training by the federal government, and Governor Deval Patrick, the Democrat who succeeded him, rescinded the agreement a week after taking office.” [Boston Globe, 8/15/07]
March 2006: Romney Supports A “Path to Citizenship,” Opposes “Rounding Up” Undocumented Workers.” Gov. Mitt Romney expressed support yesterday for an immigration program that places large numbers of illegal residents on the path toward citizenship… ‘I don’t believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country,’ Romney said. ‘[T]hose that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship, as they would from their home country.’” [Lowell Sun, 3/30/06]