Immigration Policy Confusing?

POSTED BY Raleigh-Elizabeth Smith, 25 January 2008

It can be for us, too. A new video from The UpTake's Corrine McDermid takes an on-the-ground look at America's immigration problem: five days in grueling desert conditions with no water, to start. For more information on where the candidates stand on immigration:

Hillary Clinton on immigration: I am proud of America's commitment to welcoming immigrants. We are all immeasurably enriched by the contributions of immigrants who have come to this country to find the American dream through their hard work. Our immigration system is broken, and it is past time that we came together and implemented an effective policy which respects our immigrant heritage, the rule of law, and human dignity. That is what I am committed to achieving.

John Edwards on immigration: I support policies that welcome immigrants and protect our security, including an earned legalization program for those who work hard and play by the rules.

Mike Huckabee on immigration: Implement a broad-based strategy that commits the resources of the federal government to the enforcement of our immigration laws and results in the attrition of the illegal immigrant population.

John McCain on immigration: Very seldom have I seen an issue that aroused this much passion with the American people. No one is for amnesty. I and the president came forward with a plan that we thought was comprehensive and workable with the priority being border security, which remains my position. Why we failed is because the American people have lost trust and confidence in us. We have to succeed, because there's 12 million people who are in this country illegally, which is de facto amnesty, and we need a temporary worker program. I commit to securing the borders first. We can secure those borders. As president, I would have the border state governors certify that those borders were indeed secure.

Barack Obama on immigration: The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America… Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should.

Ron Paul on immigration: The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked.

Mitt Romney on immigration: I love immigration. I love legal immigrants coming into our country. My guess is everybody in this room is a descendant of an immigrant or an immigrant himself. So we love immigration as Americans. Immigration brings us education, new cultures, ideas, innovative talent. It's wonderful to have legal immigration. I don't like illegal immigration.