Mike Lee Quotes

I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants.

I would give illegal immigrants already here a three-month grace period to apply for a temporary worker's visa. If they failed to apply within that time frame, they would be considered fugitives, and they would be found and deported.

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?

The DREAM Act was intended to benefit illegal immigrants who were brought here as children, the most sympathetic subset among our large illegal immigrant population.

At the end of the day, it not only doesn't make logical sense to deny licenses to undocumented immigrants, it doesn't make financial sense.

I do not support driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

People have to stop employing illegal immigrants.

I’ve yet to see a customer walk out of a restaurant because his dishes were being washed by an illegal alien.

We need employer sanctions to avoid illegal immigration so that legal immigration may dominate.

The way the market works it is always cheaper to hire an illegal immigrant then to hire a legal immigrant.

On immigration reform you don’t get a bill without a path to citizenship .

I came across this circumstance of undocumented students. These are kids who were brought to this country as youngsters, who are raised as Americans and go to American schools, and then when they graduate high school, they have no prospects in front of them because they are undocumented and illegally in the United States.

The 1986 act didn't turn illegal immigrants into citizens on the spot. It granted temporary resident status only to those who could prove they had resided continuously in America for five years. After 18 months, their status could be upgraded to permanent residency, and only after another five years could they become U.S. citizens.

In order to create real, long-lasting reform, we must create a pathway to legal status for the millions of undocumented immigrants who have made lives for themselves and their families in the United States.

I do not support amnesty. I do not support driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

If I ran for president, the first thing I'd do is legalize everyone who's been here paying taxes, working, paying taxes. Mothers and fathers of kids born in the U.S. should get a green card.

Obama gave temporary amnesty to well over 1 million illegal immigrants, and Romney said nothing.

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

Bernie Sanders supports offering a pathway to citizenship for immigrants already in the U.S. and halting deportations for almost 9 million hardworking undocumented fathers and mothers.

My parents were desperately trying to become documented citizens of this country and tried very hard to get there, but to no avail.

Illegal aliens have broken our laws, and they shouldn't be rewarded with amnesty and immediate legalization.

My father, who worked as a dishwasher, was especially anxious. He did not like being here undocumented.

The reality is for 50 years in this country, federal law has required people that are illegal - or that are immigrants - or that are legal immigrants to this country to carry documentation to that effect. And that has been the law for 50 years.

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.

Our message to the world will be this. You cannot obtain legal status or become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country. That's right. People will know that you can't just smuggle in, hunker down, and wait to be legalized. It's not going to work that way. Those days are over.