Rick Santorum Says Families With Undocumented Immigrants Should Be Broken Up

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, speaking at a campaign stop in Spencer, Iowa Wednesday, said families with undocumented immigrants should be broken up when the law is broken.

"You can't be here for 20 years and commit only one illegal act ... because everything you're doing while you're here is against the law," he said, according to the Spencer Daily Reporter. "I understand Congressman Gingrich saying, 'Well, you know, people have been here and they've been good citizens and paying taxes.' Yeah, under somebody else's Social Security number because you stole it."

He went on to say that families should be broken up when the law is broken, including illegal immigration, according to the Reporter. While crossing the border unauthorized is a criminal violation, living in the U.S. without documents is a civil violation.

In a Nov. 22 debate, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said families with undocumented immigrants should not be broken up. "I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to take people who have been here a quarter century, who have children and grandchildren, who are members of the community, who may have done something 25 years ago, separate them from their families, and expel them," said the former House speaker. "I don't see how the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century."

Santorum has made far more campaign stops in Iowa than any other Republican presidential candidate, but has netted only six percent support of likely caucus-goers according to a Des Moines Register poll released Saturday.

He suggested other "Republican leaders" were surrendering on social issues Friday in a fundraising e-mail sent to supporters. "Because a number of Republican leaders have suggested that the best way to win back the White House is to call a truce on talking about social issues. Issues like abortion, marriage, school prayer, and immigration. In my book that's not a truce ... it's a surrender!"

Comments

[RepublicanDepression]

07:18 PM on 01/21/2013

Santorum dribbles out more fail:

Exodus 22:21, "You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt."

Leviticus 19:34 "The alien who resides among you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt

Letter to the Hebrews: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels unawares."

LOL!

Right wing Bible-abusers FAIL!”

[yuca]

09:51 PM on 01/20/2013

He will pay for his words.........Over 20 million Latina's ? Latino's in America, 5 million on the Island of Puerto Rico

[sparky38]

01:32 PM on 01/20/2013

A fresh new Republican movement.

[Doug Sandlin]

10:54 PM on 01/04/2012

Wait ..... Santorum wants to break up families??

I thought he was "all about the family"??

I'm shocked.

Shocked, I tell you.

[yuca]

09:59 PM on 01/20/2013

he's promoting welfare.....Only he hasn't figured that out, big mouth, empty words..What can he do, is watch Icon,Scorsese, Italian Classic on how his people came here and how all people who come here are subjected to men like Santorum. Someone tell him, when his cousins came here threw Eilis Island, thousands had their names changed because of ignorance, of those who arrogance assumed that they didn't have to learn another language, Elitist, like Santorum. It's strange for me to see this guy, I'm 70 years old, he thinks he knows something about struggle. ja ja ja

[RepublicanDepression]

02:41 PM on 12/24/2011

“Leviticus 19:34. "The alien who resides among you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God."

(note the lack of distinctio­n of whether the aliens are "among you" lawfully or not).

Merry Christmas!

[yuca]

10:03 PM on 01/20/2013

C, now u gone and done it! clap clap clap We Indians still can't understand how a man like Santorum is here, ja ja ja

[RepublicanDepression]

07:20 PM on 01/21/2013

LOL!

[allanfclark]

08:37 AM on 12/15/2011

America needs a cleansing ! out with mexicans and a new government who will listen to the will of the people !!!

[RepublicanDepression]

02:23 PM on 12/24/2011

Hate-mongers need a mental cleansing.

[sparky38]

01:36 PM on 01/20/2013

You must have overlooked that, until 1848 most of the west was,in fact Mexico, and once you understand that,the US was Mexico, you'll see this is our home too.

[RepublicanDepression]

07:21 PM on 01/21/2013

Well said.

[Kurfco]

06:22 PM on 12/12/2011

Thankfully, a large proportion of the illegally resident aliens were beamed into this country, so they never had to commit the criminal act of crossing the border illegally. As befits the season, sounds like the "miraculous invasion".

[RepublicanDepression]

02:40 PM on 12/24/2011

Kurfco: "Thankfully­, a large proportion of the illegally resident aliens were beamed into this country, so they never had to commit the criminal act of crossing the border illegally."

Why is your side of the debate so uninformed, Kurfco?

In fact, most illegal immigrants have NOT committed "the criminal act of crossing the border illegally."

Wiki: "Most illegal immigrants are migrants who originally arrive in a country lawfully, but overstay their authorized residence (i.e. overstaying a visa).[1][50][51] "

So most illegal immigrants are NOT criminals.

Your side of the debate now has an actual FACT!

That is a Christmas miracle.

Now maybe your side can apply some Christian charity to the "least among us"

[yuca]

10:09 PM on 01/20/2013

What about the ones that are here from Germany, England, France,Spain, ETC......Are they going to be looking for them, or is this a " Get the Mexican" thing. Because if that's what it is, its a low blow ( Due to Nationality Bigotry, o yeah), soooooooo there are no rules to being in America! ! ! Get it?

[yuca]

10:06 PM on 01/20/2013

ho ho ho~ clap clap clap

[RepublicanDepression]

01:15 AM on 12/12/2011

Why Americans Think (Wrongly) That Illegal Immigrants Hurt the Economy

Job insecurity, strapped state budgets, and xenophobia may all play a role. But there’s more to it than that.

At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they’re bad. In a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, 74 percent of respondents said illegal immigrants weakened the economy, compared to only 17 percent who said they strengthened it.

Yet the consensus among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. They also replenish—and help fund benefits for—an aging American labor force that will retire in huge numbers over the next few decades. Also, an increase in the number of American workers is needed to prevent the U.S. from having too few working-age adults to pay for retiree benefits in a few decades, as many European nations currently do. So why is there such a discrepancy between the perception of immigrants’ impact on the economy and the reality?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/14/why-americans-think-wrongly-that-illegal-immigrants-hurt-the-economy.html

[CJ13]

08:50 PM on 12/11/2011

Rick Santorum is going to have a lot of explaining to do if he thinks he can get through those Pearly Gates.

[RepublicanDepression]

12:41 PM on 12/11/2011

More selective anti-Biblical hypocrisy from the Biblically sex-obsessed Rick Santorum. Unfortunately for him and all the other Christian foreigner-bashes with no love or compassion for the undocumented :

Exodus 22:21, "You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt."

Leviticus 19:34 "The alien who resides among you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt

Letter to the Hebrews: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels unawares."

LOL!

Right wing Bible-abusers FAIL!

[yuca]

10:13 PM on 01/20/2013

clap clap clap, and I'm not a Christaina

[RepublicanDepression]

12:39 PM on 12/11/2011

Moved from below for everyone's entertainm­ent:

politician­81h8: "You even pointed out that Santorum said to "deport the entire family," which would imply that he doesn't want to tear families apart if it's not needed. You FAIL."

IMPLY! LOL!

11) Too bad for you that Santorum did more than IMPLY the “oppression” and “wrongs” he wants inflicted on those “aliens” who “temporarily sojourn” among us. Santorum said he supports breaking up families, and I PROVED that this violates Biblical precepts:

Exodus 22:21, "You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt."

12) It looks like Santorum has hypocritically tried to pull a Romney- hold two contradictory positions - one position that he endorses breaking up families and one position that he doesn't want to break up families.

13) Nice try to blame Santorum's contradictions on me. But you're the one that loves Santorum. You explain it.

LOL! politician81h8 FAIL AGAIN!

[Lyaeus 10]

12:26 PM on 12/11/2011

That's what happens when the public overwhelmingly supports the position you don't hold, you lose, and if Santorum had any actual belief in democratic principles he would surrender. I'm hoping this is the last charge of the family values elephant. Demographic and generational shifts don't support evangelical's continued strength in the politics. We are already seeing massively negative policital consequences for those that take hard line evangelical positions in national polls.

[RepublicanDepression]

12:24 PM on 12/11/2011

Moved from below for everyone's entertainment:

politician81h8: "3. The sojourners in Israel were there LEGALLY."

3) Prove it.

4) Even if so, so what?

poli: "If you want to temporaril­y live in America and then retire back to your home nation, there are legal ways to do so,"

AHA! Here is your Santorum-loving problem. The Bible makes no such distinction. Legal, illegal, or otherwise, the Bible still says that sojourners are to be treated as citizens and not oppressed or wronged. So the Lev19:34 and Ex22:21 still apply to ALL sojourners in the US., and YOU FAIL when you say Santorum's policy does not violate it.

poli: "so there is no excuse for breaking the law."

LOL! Jesus Christ excused a lot of law-breaking, including sex offenses (similar to the ones that your beloved Santorum is obsessed with and that you seem oddly curious about). So Biblically speaking, you are wrong again!

LOL!

Politician81h8 FAIL!

[UKLLee]

12:48 AM on 12/12/2011

Deportation is not oppression nor is it a "wrong".

[RepublicanDepression]

06:12 PM on 12/13/2011

LOL!

UKLLee: "Deportatio­n is not oppression nor is it a "wrong". "

LOL!

Too bad for "Funny" UnKLEE, that is not what Santorum said. So its a Straw Man argument.

Santorum is not merely talking about deportation, he is supporting breaking up families of the "sojourners" among us. That is oppressive and wrong. And is not loving. And it's not treating them as citizens.

Therefore, Santorum is anti-scriptural and "Funny" UnKLEE is WRONG!

PROVED!

[HopeWFaith]

12:09 PM on 12/11/2011

Not everyone is breaking the law. Some immigrants are here for the right reasons.

Please help all these families. Please.

1) Please watch a very brief video of 2 children who will be losing their family.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A05JjbDdrek&feature=channel_video_title

2) Watch this CNN clip that features the family of a friend of mine-their is a very brief commercial that CNN forces everyone to watch, but don't give up please. Stay with it for the report:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/12/09/pkg-snow-indonesian-deportation-fight.cnn

3) Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale of the Reform Church of Highland Park has a plan to keep these families together. Pastor Seth needs all our help.

Please, won't you help them? Thank you.

[swimbiker]

11:56 AM on 12/11/2011

The law they are breaking is a misdemeanor. Families are not broken up for the equivalent of a speeding ticket, jay walking, or failure to pay a parking ticket.

[RepublicanDepression]

01:27 PM on 12/11/2011

Exactly. It is a civil matter, not a criminal matter.

This is what the uninformed right wing fails to understand. Look at right-wing politician81h8 as a classic example of this kind of misinformed person who persists in error even after his errors are pointed out to him.

Fox News has been proven to have the most misinformed viewers.

[UKLLee]

12:50 AM on 12/12/2011

It's a federal crime to cross our borders illegally. That doesn't go away just because they weren't caught in the act.