John McCain Quotes

We are dealing with the question of the 11 million people paying their taxes, having a path to legalization and, then, ultimately, to citizenship. Tough issues but we are coming together and I think we can do it.

These are people who haven't gone through the legal means to becoming citizens like our forefathers did. They want all the benefits but none of the responsibilities.

We should have a path to legal status for the 12 million people that are here illegally. It means, come out from the shadows, pay a fine, earn legal status by working, by paying taxes, learning English. Not committing crimes and earn legal status where you're not cutting in front of the line for people that are patiently waiting outside.

I support legal immigration. I don't support amnesty because it is not fair to people standing in line at consulates around the world.

For the first time since 2007 there is political momentum behind fixing the immigration system. President Obama in his State of the Union speech reached out to the right-wing by saying illegal immigrants seeking citizenship will have to pay taxes, learn English and get in line behind people who are trying to enter the United States legally.

Any proposal that allows people who are here illegally to cut to the front of the line is amnesty.

We feel a pathway to citizenship would reward illegal activity, ... Amnesty encourages further illegal immigration.

If they [mexicans] cross the border, I think, and they are violating the law, then that word criminal does connect with that violation, so if they're violating the law, I guess you can call them criminals. We call everybody else criminals that violate the law.

When you look at this, I think that there's been such a hard push on this. The reason they're called DREAMers is because that's the most sympathetic term that could be applied to among all of these DREAMers, there are some awfully bad people. And these dreamers go on to the age of 37 or 38 or maybe older.

Just because they broke the law doesn't mean they're condemned forever to a twilight status. So, I think that most Americans, if these people who have come illegally, as long as they pay back taxes, pay a fine, learn English and get behind everybody else, that's a key element of it. And most Americans now realize we can't have 11 million people sit in the twilight - the shadows of America, forever.

I do think we should be focused on substance and record. If you want a candidate who opposes amnesty, who opposes citizenship for the 12 million people here illegally, I'm the only candidate in the race who opposes that.

Every time anybody in Washington talks about legal status, amnesty, anything of that nature, it becomes a magnet that lures people in quickly into the United States.

I have never supported amnesty, and I led the fight against Chuck Schumer's gang of eight amnesty legislation in the Senate.

There should be a pathway to citizenship - not a special pathway and not no pathway.

For the undocumented immigrants, the big priority is just to get out from the shadows, be able to get a driver's license, buy an airplane ticket and stop worrying about sudden deportation. But for the country as a whole, it's crucial that everybody have a citizen's stake in the nation's welfare.

Over a period of time, they [undocumented workers] can have a legalized status that allows them to live a life of dignity but not necessarily a path to citizenship, so as to not create incentives for future people that aspire to come to our country to do so illegally when they could come legally.

But simply someone who broke the law, came here, say, 'I'll give you citizenship now,' that I don't think is going to happen.

A path to citizenship for those who are here illegally in my view is unfair to those waiting sometimes a decades in line to come here.

I appreciate the good work that senators in both parties have put into trying to fix our broken immigration system. There are some good elements in this proposal, especially increasing the resources and manpower to secure our border and also improving and streamlining legal immigration. However, I have deep concerns with the proposed path to citizenship. To allow those who came here illegally to be placed on such a path is both inconsistent with rule of law and profoundly unfair to the millions of legal immigrants who waited years, if not decades, to come to America legally.

Ted [Cruz], you support legalizing people who are in this country illegally.

I want immigration reform to pass, I want people to be able to come out of the shadows.

Yes, absolutely because we think there is a way to do this through earned legalization without rewarding people who have come in with undocumented status, illegally. We don't want to give them an advantage over those who came here legally and we think that there's a way to do this while still respecting the rule of law. It's clear that what the President is talking about does not do that.

Those who have come to the United States illegally should not be given amnesty or an easier path to citizenship over those already in line.

After all this brouhaha Washington, Donald Trump lands in Florida" If we don't have the wall, we are doing nothing." Trump says there will eventually be a border wall and there won't be amnesty for DREAMers. But they're going to allowed to stay. People say, "W-w-well, wait a minute, now. If you're letting 'em stay, how is that not amnesty?" Well, they're not gonna be made automatic citizens.

The fact of the matter is, this country is not going to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. What are we supposed to do with them? What are we supposed to do with these kids?