Romney campaigns for Michigan candidate

HOLLAND, Mich. --Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said it should be harder for illegal immigrants to get into the United States but added that those who are here should not be rounded up and deported.

Romney was in Holland on Monday because U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, asked him to speak in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos in front of a couple hundred of Hoekstra's supporters during a luncheon at Hope College.

DeVos, who was not at the event, was president of Ada-based Alticor Inc., the parent company of direct-sales giant Amway Corp., from 1993 to 2002 and still has a significant financial interest in Alticor.

"I'm committed to seeing him become the next governor of Michigan," Romney said.

Romney, whose father, George Romney, served as Michigan's governor during most of the 1960s, also is chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

It is important that Gov. Jennifer Granholm be voted out of office in November, Mitt Romney said.

"Michigan is one of our target states because the Democratic governor here has not been able to lay out a program to turn this state around, and that's recognized by people," he said after the appearance. "She's a very lovely person, but she hasn't been able to get the state back on track."

Romney also was critical of Granholm during a speech he gave last September at a GOP conference on Mackinac Island.

"The fact of the matter is that Gov. Granholm has a plan that she's working on every day to bring jobs to Michigan," said Granholm spokesman Chris De Witt. "Dick DeVos has no plan for the state of Michigan, and it is very clear that as time plays out, the contrast between Gov. Granholm's plan and Dick DeVos' no-plan will have an impact on voters in the state."

Regarding immigration, Romney said U.S. borders should be made more secure to keep illegal immigrants from entering. He also said he opposed an amnesty program that would automatically grant citizenship to the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country.

"I think that route is not acceptable at this stage," he said. "We should report illegal behavior."

Instead, Romney said, illegal immigrants should be identified and required to apply for green cards, which would allow them to live and work in the United States. Those whose applications are accepted could stay, the rest would be returned to their native countries.

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