Des Moines, Iowa, Dec 14, 2011 / 00:55 am
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum signaled his disagreement with the U.S. bishops' recommended immigration reforms, in an interview due to be broadcast on Iowa Public Television Dec. 13.
“If we develop the program like the Catholic bishops suggested we would be creating a huge magnet for people to come in and break the law some more,” said Santorum, a former U.S. senator and current Republican presidential hopeful known for his Catholic faith, according to the Des Moines Register.
“We’d be inviting people to cross this border, come into this country and with the expectation that they will be able to stay here permanently,” Santorum told Register columnist Kathie Obradovich, during a half-hour discussion filmed for the “Conversations with the Candidates” series.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops supports immigration reform that would offer the possibility of citizenship for qualified immigrants.