"We must create a system that converts the current flow of primarily low-skilled illegal immigrants into the United States into a more manageable and controlled flow of legal immigrants who can be absorbed by our economy.
"Let me elaborate. The first of these seven principles is that illegal immigration is wrong--plain and simple. Until the American people are convinced that we will stop future flows of illegal immigration, we will make no progress on dealing with the millions of illegal immigrants who are here now, and on rationalizing our system of legal immigration. That's plain and simple and unavoidable. When we use phrases like 'undocumented workers,' we convey a message to the American people that their government is not serious about combating illegal immigration, which the American people overwhelmingly oppose. If you don't think it's illegal, you're not gonna say it. I think it IS illegal and wrong, and we have to change it. Above all else, the American people want their people to be serious about protecting the public, enforcing the rule of law, and creating a rational system of legal immigration that will proactively fit our needs rather than reactively responding to future waves of illegal immigration. People who enter the United States without our permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who entered the U.S. legally. To the advocates of strong, fair, comprehensive immigration reform, and I'm certainly one, I say to you that the American people will never accept immigration reform unless they truly believe that their government is committed to ending future illegal immigration, and any successful comprehensive reform bill must recognize this fact.. ...Just as the American people are strongly against illegal immigration, they are also just as strongly against turning their country into a 'roundup republic,' - where they will be confronted by nightly news stories of sympathetic families being torn apart at gunpoint during harsh enforcement raids. The American people prefer a pragmatic solution that works to empty rhetoric, however satisfying, that fails."
