As the four remaining candidates for the GOP nomination duked it out in Florida during tonight’s debate, there was little talk of education. But former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich did get a question on the DREAM Act legislation, which would create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children and who go on to enter college or the military. This is likely an important issue to many voters in Florida, which has a large, strong Hispanic population.
Mitt Romney, who mentioned during the debate that he’s a supporter of English-language immersion in schools, already has said he would veto the DREAM Act, although he supports a path to citizenship for those who enter the military.
Gingrich—Romney’s biggest rival—said during the debate (sponsored by NBC, National Journal and the Tampa Bay Times) that he wouldn’t veto DREAM Act legislation, but instead would work for a “signable version” that allowed only those who enter the military to work toward citizenship. Simply going to college wouldn’t be good enough, in his view.