Nov. 28 Republican debate transcript

Cooper: OK.

McCain: And we won't have all this other rhetoric that unfortunately contributes nothing to the national dialogue.

Cooper: Thank you, Senator.

Michael Weitz who actually asked that question is here in the audience.

Michael, do you feel you got an answer?

Weitz: Am I happy with the answer?

Cooper: Yes.

Weitz: One yes, one no and one sort of.

Cooper: All right.

Well, let's -- Congressman Tancredo?

Tom Tancredo: Yes.

Well, I tell you, this has been wonderful. Senator McCain may not be happy with the spirit of this debate. For a guy who usually stands on the bookend here, aside, and just listens all the time, that's kind of frustrating, you know, in other debates. I have to tell you, so far, it's been wonderful.

Because all I've heard is people trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo.

Tancredo: It is great. I am so happy to hear it. It is a wonderful thing. It's a good message, yes. We want to secure the borders.

Cooper: Our next question is actually directly to you, so let's bring it up.

Tancredo: Let me go ahead and answer that next question.

Jack Brooks: Hammered by competition with imports, our family- owned business struggles each year to find seasonal workers. We've been working with a seasonal guest-worker program, the H2B program, bringing in and sending home workers every year.

But with Congress failing to enact a comprehensive immigration and guest worker bill, I want to know whether I'll have a job next year. What are you going to do to keep these guest workers coming to the U.S. to save our business?

Cooper: Congressman Tancredo?

Tancredo: OK, the gist of the question, as I understand it, is, what I'm going to do stop guest workers from coming in here?

Cooper: No, no, to help. This small business needs guest workers.

Tancredo: I'm sorry. I could not hear that. I'm sorry. Well, I'll tell you, I'm not going to aid any more immigration into this country, because in fact, immigration...

(Applause)

... massive immigration into the country, massive immigration, both legal and illegal, does a couple of things.

Tancredo: One of it is, makes it difficult for us to assimilate. The other thing is that it does take jobs.

I reject the idea -- I reject the idea, categorically, that there are jobs that, quote, "No American will take." I reject it.

(Applause)

Now, what they will do...

(Applause)

... what you can say -- what you absolutely can say to these people is that there are no -- there are some jobs Americans won't take for what I can get any illegal immigrant to do that job for. Yes, that's true.

But am I going to feel sorry if a business has to increase its wages in order for somebody in this country to make a good living? No, I don't feel sorry about that and I won't apologize for it for a moment. And there are plenty of Americans who will do those jobs.

(Applause)

Cooper: Congressman Hunter?

Duncan Hunter: Yes. Cooper, a great debate. It's nice to listen to lots of statements about what the other candidates will do with respect to the borders.

I built that border fence in San Diego and it does work. It's a...

(Applause)

You know, we built a double fence. We had the number one smuggler's corridor in America with most of the illegal aliens and most of the drugs that came into the entire country coming in through that number one corridor between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California.

We built the double-border fence with a road in between, and we reduced the smuggling of people and drugs by more than 90 percent. And as a result of that, the crime rate...

(Applause)

... the crime rate in the city of San Diego went down by 53 percent by FBI statistic. And as a result of that, I wrote the law that the president signed last October 26, incidentally, passed the Senate 80-19, that mandates 854 miles of double-border fence across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Now, the administration has $800 million on hand right now, cash on hand. They haven't built a linear inch of that fence in Texas.

Hunter: As president of the United States, I would bill the double-border fence, all 854 miles, in six months.

Cooper: Next question is...

(Applause)

Hunter: That is my commitment.

(Applause)

Cooper: ...on immigration as well is going to go to Governor Huckabee.

(Applause)