DREAM Act Portal Forum - Presidential debate: Huntsman: Immigration reform is a human issue

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articl...a-human-issue/

Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman offered his take on immigration reform Wednesday night, saying Republicans should approach immigration reform as a “human issue.”

“President Reagan when he made his decision back in 1987 said this is a human issue, and I hope that all of us as we deal with this immigration issue will always see it as an issue that revolves around real human beings,” the Utah Republicans said Wednesday night.

President Ronald Reagan signed the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which granted legal status to as many as 3 million undocumented immigrants and is widley seen by opponents to illegal immigration as a mistake.

Speaking at the latest Republican presidential debate, Mr. Huntsman said undocumented immigrants should be “punished in some fashion,” but believes legal immigration must be reformed to prevent people from coming into the country without documents.

“Let’s not lose sight of the fact that our legal immigration system is broken,” Mr. Huntsman said. “If we want to do something about attracting brain power to this country … we need to focus as much on legal immigration as possible.”

Mr. Huntsman, who continues to lag in the latest polls, spent most of the night attempting to differentiate himself from the rest of the Republican field. The former Utah governor said any attempts at immigration reform should be grounded in reality, noting that deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants would cost the nation billions of dollars.

The former Utah governor also used the platform Wednesday night to slam President Obama’s handling of the economy, noting that the Republican presidential nominee should have experience in the private sector.

‎”To beat President Obama, we have to have somebody who’s been in the private sector, understands the fragility of the free market system, has been a successful governor as it relations to job creation, and knows something about this world,” Mr. Huntsman said.