Gov. Chris Christie: Many Undocumented Workers Won’t ‘Self-Deport’

Governor Chris Christie says that many undocumented workers would not “self-deport” from his state of New Jersey.

Christie spoke at the Conference of the Americas at the State Department in Washington D.C. today, and discussed his recent travel to both Mexico and Canada.

During the Q-and-A portion of the event, Christie admitted that there were a number of “undocumented workers” in New Jersey, but reminded Americans to “remember the motivation” for crossing the border illegally.

“None of them have ever come to me and said, ‘The reason we came here Governor, is to vote.’ They all say that they came here to work,” he said.

Christie calls illegal immigration an “extraordinary challenge,” but suggested that simply ratcheting up law enforcement was not the only solution.

“I’m not someone who believes that folks who have come here in that status are going to engage in self deportation,” he said.

Christie did not detail any policy specifics to deal with illegal immigration, but reminded the audience that the border was still not secure after the Reagan amnesty in the 1980s.

“We need to make sure that we have borders that respect our sovereignty and we haven’t done that,” he said.