Newt was doing so well too, then just cow flopped...
For someone to illegally stay in a country for 20, 25, 30 years, rarely entails that they only break one law (coming in bypassing Federal Immigration Laws) and then remaining clean and model citizens for the rest of that time is necessarily an unsustainable proposition. There is a whole underground network of fellow travelers one must stay in contact with and deal with, under the INS (and now INS/DHS) radar. Issuers of phony drivers licenses (until recently), phony SSN's, phony birth certificates, not reporting wages, phony Western Union transfers, assistance to other relatives to come illegally thus participating in an elaborate underground railway that skirts the border sovereignty of the United States, misstatements by the person with more LIES to cover up the lie of their living in the USA, such as true location of birth, citizenship, and the like. It makes no difference if they have illegally been in the country since 2009 or 1989 or 1969, the whole thing in these families is built upon the presumption of a LIE and they necessarily had to lie and cheat many times along the way to stay here under the radar, and the same time, many millions of would be legal residents and permanent aliens had to line up at US Embassies abroad and go through a battery of tests, interviews, document checks, background checks, loyalty checks, proof of livelihood and not being a social burden in the USA, fingerprints, checks for diseases, checks for sanity and criminal records, sworn affadavits, filing fees (massive) and the like. (Incidentially, few if any of these "20 and 30 year neighbors we all know, who work with us, go to school and work with us, are community members, etc, had to do ANY OF THESE CUMBERSOME THINGS BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE DISCOVERED AS ILLEGAL AND PERHAPS DEPORTED. Gingrich suggests we reward illegal behavior and it is unsustainable.
And the second thing. If I were trying to dislodge Newt Gingrich as a conservative in this race in these next few weeks, I would get the PRECISE NUMBER OF AMERICAN CITIZENS KILED ON US SOIL OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS BY ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO HAD BEEN IN THE USA FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS. Thirdly, I would have a joint press conference with the leader of any family rights' group of victims of illegal aliens who oppose any form of amnesty for those who have no business on US soil. Gingrich let himself wide open for an AMAZING broadside by Conservatives on this issue, with his latest articulation of that most nefarious and nasty brand of "conservatism", so called "compassionate conservatism" which is responsible for lax immigration laws which have not only resulted in the deaths of literally THOUSANDS of our Fellow Americans, but also allowd a system whereby the 19 9-11 hijackers could move freely around, get drivers licenses, have free reign of walking unfetterred in our national territory. Newt really soiled himself on this one and I hope my guy for example, Herman Cain, really ramps up on this issue ASAP.