On an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Carly Fiorina was asked to elaborate her stance on immigration. Fiorina stated that she is not in favor of a path to citizenship, which she had previously stated wouldn’t be fair. However, she did affirm her support for a path to legal status, which she did not address in the previous interview. The full exchange is below:
JOE SCARBOROUGH: What’s your view on immigration?
CARLY FIORINA: Well, I think we have to do some really basic things first. People have lost faith in government. That’s why 82 percent of the American people now think we have a professional political class that cares more about its power, privilege, and position than doing the people’s work. And let’s start with the fact that we’ve never secured the border — under either Republicans or Democrats. This isn’t rocket science.
SCARBOROUGH: So start by securing the border.
FIORINA: Yes. We absolutely have to do that.
SCARBOROUGH: Is there a pathway to citizenship?
FIORINA: Well, in my view, we also have to fix the illegal immigration system, which has been broken for about 25 years now. No one’s — everyone talks about comprehensive solutions but nobody starts with the basics. My own view is, if you have come here illegally and stayed here illegally, that you don’t get a path to citizenship. Perhaps legal status —
SCARBOROUGH: What about legalized status?
FIORINA: Well, I think legal status is a possibility, for sure. I think their children maybe can become citizens. But my own view is it isn’t fair to say to people who have played by the rules — and it takes a long time to play about it rules — that, you know, it just doesn’t matter.
Joshua Pinho works for American Principles in Action.
