An idealistic view: Collect them all up, put them in buses and send them home.
Realistic view: That’s just never going to happen.
Better to close the border, enforce the laws already on the books, remove the incentives for coming here, and allow the numbers to fall via attrition.
The “realistic” view is the Arizona example. Enforce the laws, require employers to check their citizenship, the illegals will deport themselves.
Do a little research on “Operation Wetback” during the 50’s and you will see the results that even a comparatively modest mass deportation drive can have. If we began seriously enforcing, millions would self-deport. It’s been done before. The only people I hear talking about sending them all home at once are amnesty supporters setting up a very weak straw man.
Keep in mind the magnitude of the Gingrich trashing on this thread does not indicate a true test of opinion, just that of those the most PO’d. I heard the whole exchange, with Bachmann repeatedly saying Gingrich said something he didn’t (since he doesn’t, in fact, want the entire 11M granted a reprieve).
I don’t like Mitt, was a Cain supporter until he began coming apart at the seams on foreign security issues and the “I’ll defer to Newt” behavior at the Woodlands debate, know what kind of paid-off sell-out Perry is by being a native Texan, and can’t stand the rest of the pack.
That brought me around to Gingrich, and this answer has the benefit of being pretty reasonable in that it starts with border and employment enforcement, then turns to long-standing residents with a NON-CITIZEN permit (note the caps). It could also pass Congress, which, despite the thread’s teeth gnashers’ thoughts to contrary, is pretty bloody important when it comes to actually governing.
Think about what the middle-of-the-road voter looks like: mushy-minded on statist issues in many cases, fundamentally good-hearted but worried about bread-and-butter issues, and swayed by emotional appeals, especially to the “underdog.” I seriously doubt this hurts Gingrich with them, but if folks on FR turn on him, enjoy Mitt as the nominee who’ll be looking for their vote.