Thomas Sowell on Newt's argument that it would not be "humane" to deport someone who has been living and working here for years:

Let's go back to square one. The purpose of American immigration laws and policies is not to be either humane or inhumane to illegal immigrants. The purpose of immigration laws and policies is to serve the national interest of this country. There is no inherent right to come live in the United States, in disregard of whether the American people want you here. Nor does the passage of time confer any such right retroactively.

Frankly, Newt's point is the same as Perry's famous statement that if you oppose in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, you have no heart. That utterance took all the wind out of Perry's sails, but conservatives now seem ready to forgive Newt everything, to avoid having Mitt Romney as their candidate. The only thing that explains the double standard on "flip-floppers" is that the true objection to Romney is his religion. Other candidates, including Newt, have changed their positions over the years. Newt famously appeared in an ad with Nancy Pelosi agreeing that global warming was a serious danger that should be a priority, which he now says was mistaken. The truth about illegal immigration is that we shouldn't even talk about giving illegals any kind of pass until we have installed a working immigration system, including secure borders, a positive identification system and strict enforcement among employers. Any talk about amnesty or anything like it is premature, because it will only encourage more people to come illegally. Fix the system first.