Susana Martinez (left, courtesy photo) and Diane Denish (photo by Heath Haussamen)
Both gubernatorial candidates are clarifying their statements published by NMPolitics.net earlier today on what to do about the millions of undocumented immigrants already in the United States illegally.
Martinez’s clarification
Republican Susana Martinez’s original statement said that, “in principle,” she believes the United States needs “a legal immigration process for those who are in this country now and wish to stay here that is practical, while at the same time does not invite the next wave of illegal immigrants.”
The solution, she said, “does not rest with amnesty that rewards those who have broken the law with a special pathway to citizenship that allows them to cut to the front of the immigration line. … Simply legalizing every illegal immigrant in the country, as some have proposed, will only undermine our legal immigration process.”
Earlier today, the New Mexico Independent wrote that Martinez’s initial statement on what to do about undocumented immigrants “sounds strikingly similar” to former President Bush’s proposal. During the primary, Martinez hammered opponent Allen Weh for supporting the Bush proposal.
In response to a request from NMPolitics.net for clarification on how Martinez’s views differ from the Bush proposal, Martinez indicated that she believes those who are currently here illegally and want to obtain legal status should have to return to their home countries and get in line.
That apparently is the “legal immigration process” she spoke of in her initial statement – and it’s much different than what Bush proposed.
Here’s the full clarifying statement from Martinez’s campaign manager, Ryan Cangiolosi:
“As she clearly states in the article, Susana does not support the ‘pathway to citizenship,’ which was proposed by Bush and has been advocated by Obama. That proposal allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country and immediately begin a process towards citizenship without having to return to their countries of origin.
“Regardless of claims to the contrary, this amounts to jumping the line as others wishing to move to the United States and become citizens are not allowed to come live here while they apply for citizenship, nor do they have an all-but-guaranteed outcome to their citizenship process.
“As she further stated, Susana believes the border must be secured first, prior to enacting immigration reforms.”
Denish’s clarification
Democrat Diane Denish’s original statement said that she honestly doesn’t know what should be done about the millions of undocumented immigrants already in the United States illegally.
“I frankly do not have an answer about what to do with the millions of undocumented immigrants already here,” she said. “But I do believe the way we are approaching the debate so far is not conducive to creating reasoned public policy.”
Denish called for bipartisanship and said all stakeholders must be involved in finding a solution.
This afternoon, her campaign sent an unsolicited clarifying statement from Denish:
“By calling for national comprehensive immigration reform, I am of course speaking about a process that will determine the status of the millions of undocumented workers already here. I’m not sure anyone knows for sure exactly how that process would need to work, but it does need to be humane and understanding of the fact that there are some undocumented workers who have been living and working here for years and likely wish to stay legally, and there are others who only intend to work and then return to their home countries.
“The president made a first step by saying comprehensive immigration reform would allow the undocumented to stand up without fear, admit to their status, and be counted so that we can have a true gauge of the issue as we seek to determine a long-term solution.”