Romney began his term as Massachusetts governor in 2003 with a view of immigration reflecting his background as chief executive officer of Bain & Co., a Boston-based venture-capital firm. Many lobbies representing U.S. businesses favor guest- worker programs and say that without one, such industries as agriculture, restaurants and hotels might face labor shortages.

In his Bloomberg interview last year, Romney said: “We need to begin a process of registering those people, some being returned and some beginning the process of applying for citizenship and establishing legal status.”

About the same time, Romney told the Boston Globe in an interview that the immigration measure backed by McCain, setting a path to citizenship for undocumented workers was “reasonable,” and wasn’t a blanket amnesty proposal. Undocumented immigrants “contribute in many cases to our economy and to our society,” he said.

As Romney moved closer to launching his presidential campaign, he began taking steps that appealed to anti- immigration voters. His threatened veto scuttled a plan to provide low-cost tuition for children of undocumented immigrants, whom he called members of “an illegal family.” He also opposed a plan to allow people in the U.S. illegally to obtain drivers’ licenses.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=abBwDlJPPPBI&refer=home