GOP Candidates on Immigration

WASHINGTON — Immigration has emerged as an important issue in the Republican presidential primary, and some candidates have shifted policies since running for the Oval Office. Here is a look at where the GOP candidates stand on immigration now, and where they stood earlier.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

BEFORE: While governor, Huckabee supported a bill that would have provided taxpayer-funded scholarships for illegal immigrant children. Huckabee defended the measure at a recent GOP debate, saying it "would've allowed those children who had been in our schools their entire school life the opportunity to have the same scholarship that their peers had." During a state of the state speech in 2005, he also showed support for giving other financial aid to illegal immigration students.

NOW: After criticism that he was soft of illegal immigration, Huckabee released a nine-point plan that calls for fencing the border and giving current illegal immigrants 120 days to register with the government and leave the country. Those who leave would face no penalty if they later applied to return. In a later interview, Huckabee said many of the immigrants would be allowed to return quickly. Huckabee's plan also calls for local police to enforce immigration law and would eliminate a category of legal immigration that allows U.S. citizens to petition to have adult siblings come to the United States. Huckabee also supports eliminating the visa lottery program that randomly selects 50,000 applicants from underrepresented countries to enter the United States legally each year. His new plan does not address the issue of giving scholarships to illegal immigrant students.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona

BEFORE: McCain was a main sponsor of an immigration rehaul that would have enhanced border security, created a large temporary worker program, and offered many illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. The measure failed in the Senate earlier this year.

NOW: McCain still advocates the "comprehensive immigration reform" measure, but now says that enforcement must come first. In a recent debate, he said, "We must secure the borders first. But then ... we need to sit down as Americans and recognize these are God's children as well, and they need some protections under the law and they need some of our love and compassion."

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani

BEFORE: Giuliani inherited — and staunchly defended — a policy from his predecessor Ed Koch that barred city agencies from sharing information with the federal government on the immigration status of residents who use city services unless there is evidence of a crime. The so called "sanctuary" policy has been attacked aggressively by Giuliani's rivals, especially former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. In 2006, Giuliani said he favored a Senate immigration measure that would have given many illegal immigrants a path to citizenship if they met certain requirements such as passing a criminal background check. The measure passed the Senate but never became law.

NOW: Giuliani has defended the New York immigration policy on not reporting illegal immigrants who use city services, saying that it was necessary for public health and helped reduce crime. He has also taken a harder line on immigration. He supports a physical fence and a "high-tech" fence along the Southern border, enhancing the Border Patrol, and tamper-proof biometric identification cards for all noncitizens. He also says that a noncitizen who commits a crime should be deported and that immigrants must be required to read, write and speak English.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney

BEFORE: While he was governor, several small Massachusetts cities had "sanctuary" policies where city employees didn't ask the legal status of immigrants using services. According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Romney made no attempts to penalize, censure, or cut funding to the cities. Romney authorized the state police to arrest illegal immigrants, but the agreement with the federal government needed to implement the order was signed less than a month before he left office. The order never took effect. While governor, Romney also opposed driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students. In a November 2005 interview with the Boston Globe, he said he favored measures in Congress that would have given millions of illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship if they pay fines, work for several years and meet other requirements. He said they were "reasonable proposals" that were different from amnesty.

NOW: Romney has taken a strong position against illegal immigration, making it a cornerstone of his campaign. He now rejects any legislation that gives illegal immigrants amnesty or a "special path" to citizenship and supports stiffer fines and penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants. He would cut back federal funding to so-called "sanctuary cities" that don't ask the legal status of immigrants using city services.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee

BEFORE: As a senator, Thompson voted in favor of increasing the number of H-1B visas for highly educated foreign workers and for increasing the number of foreign farm workers in the United States. He also voted for a major immigration bill in 2006 that increased the Border Patrol and limited public benefits available to legal and illegal immigrants. Thompson said in an interview last year that driving 12 million people underground permanently was "not a good solution" and that lawmakers needed to "work out a deal where they can have some aspirations of citizenship but not make it so easy that it's unfair to the people waiting in line and abiding by the law."

NOW: Thompson released an immigration plan that opposes any path to citizenship, supports beefing up the Border Patrol to 25,000 agents, would double the number of interior enforcement agents and deny certain federal funds from "sanctuary cities" and colleges that offer in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. The plan also calls for making English the official language of the United States.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas

BEFORE: Paul has voted for several measures to crack down on illegal immigration, including measures to build a fence along the Southern border and require hospitals to gather and report information on possible illegal immigrants before they get reimbursed for treating them. He also supported a measure this year to revoke birthright citizenship so children of illegal immigrants would not get citizenship rights.

NOW: Paul has a six-point plan that includes ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants and tracking down and deporting those who overstay their visas, which includes millions of people. In addition, he opposes any attempt to offer a path to citizenship to illegal immigrants which he says would reward people for breaking the law.

Rep. Duncan Hunter of California

BEFORE: Hunter was the lead proponent of successful legislation to build 854 miles of fencing along the Southern border with Mexico. In 2006, he voted in favor of a large immigration enforcement bill that included penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants and made illegal presence in the United States a felony, as opposed to a civil offense.

NOW: Hunter has not changed his policies on immigration. He is currently trying to reverse a measure passed by the House and Senate this week that gives the Department of Homeland Security greater discretion in deciding where to put the border fence and how to build it. Hunter said the bill "guts" the original border fence legislation.