Does Clint Didier Support Amnesty for Illegal Aliens?

Washington U.S. Senate candidate Clint Dider had the following exchange with Ross Reynolds on KUOW's "The Conversation" this morning:

Reynolds: Millions of people who are in this country illegally, what do you think should be done about that issue?

Didier:  Well first of all we got to secure our borders. We’ve got an invasion of not only illegal people coming in here, and the problem I have with illegal immigration is the first word, it’s illegal. But we also have an invasion of terrorists. There has been documentation found of terrorists actually crossing the southern border and northern border. So Posse Comitatus that was passed in 1878 where we can’t use our military as a police force is out of the question. We’ve got a breach of security, so therefore we can use our military on the border. You know, when they were there in 2007 for one month and no drugs and no people crossed there, and they weren’t even given bullets. The Federales came and crossed and ceased one of our positions because we didn’t even have bullets to defend ourselves.

Reynolds:   Let’s assume we can seal off the borders and people cannot come in illegally, we still have people who are not documented. What happens to them?

Didier:  We give them the opportunity to come forward. Come forward and tell us who you are, you’re here, you’re here in America. If you’ve got a job and you’re paying taxes, you’re granted a one year visa. If you committed a crime here in America, you’re out. If you’re here and you do not come forward, you’re out as soon as you’re found.  We get rid of political correctness. But when the ones that are here, they get a one year visa. We need a private sector to develop a business that will count for every one of these people who are here legally now underneath of that got a visa, one-third of their salary is sent to that business, they are responsible for that and that is what is waiting at the border for them to leave at the end of their working cycle and the next year they are granted anther one year visa. If you give them a three year visa they get lost in the shuffle and they get lost in our country.

Reynolds:  Do you think there should be a path to citizenship, should they be able to become citizens?

Didier:  Yes! Yes! And I think it’s gotten to become way too hard, because we are a melting pot of the world and believe me and my ancestry is from Germany, France, Ireland.  I’m a little stubborn. But you know what this is America and we are resilient we’re winners and we believe in success so let’s turn this thing around and be like that shining city on the side of the hill like Reagan wanted.

So does Clint Didier support amnesty for illegal aliens?  He does if you count a "path to citizenship" as amnesty.   And there are many who consider "pathway to citizenship" to be a buzzword for amnesty, as the end result is the same.  There are those who also who worry that a "path to citizenship" will only encourage more illegal immigration.

It's worth comparing Didier's position on immigration to Barack Obama's recently proposed path to legalization:

In his first major speech on the issue, President Obama on Thursday called for immigration reform legislation that would include a pathway to citizenship for the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants but said it could not happen without Republican support.

“We can create a pathway for legal status that is fair and reflective of our values and works,” Obama said in his speech at American University. “The question now is do we have the courage and political will to pass a bill through Congress and finally get it done.

“I’m ready to move forward. But the fact is without bipartisan support we cannot solve this problem. We cannot pass comprehensive reform without Republican votes. That is a political and mathematical reality.”

To bolster his argument, Obama noted that the number of border patrol officers along the country’s Southwest border is greater than it’s ever been and that crime along the border and the number of illegal crossers is down.

“The border is more secure today than at any time in the last 20 years,” he said.

But Obama said that more needed to be done to improve enforcement. He also said that those who broke the law to enter the country must get right with the law by registering with the government and paying fines.

I guess Didier would be one Republican vote Obama could count on.