Statesman.com

During a Democratic presidential debate in Austin, Texas, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton said they would consider suspending work site immigration raids until Congress passes an immigration overhaul which includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Clinton said she would request such legislation in the first 100 days of her administration.

“When we see what’s been happening, with literally babies being left with no one to take care of them, children coming home from school, no responsible adult left, that is not the America that I know,” Clinton said.

Other immigration highlights from the debate:

Clinton: “We need a path to legalization, to bring the immigrants out of the shadows, give them the conditions that we expect them to meet, paying a fine for coming here illegally, trying to pay back taxes, over time, and learning English. If they had a committed a crime in our country or the country they came from, then they should be deported. But for everyone else, there must be a path to legalization.”

Obama: “It is absolutely critical that we tone down the rhetoric when it comes to the immigration debate, because there has been an undertone that has been ugly. Oftentimes, it has been directed at the Hispanic community. We have seen hate crimes skyrocket in the wake of the immigration debate…and that is unacceptable.”

Obama on the border fence: “There may be areas where it makes sense to have some fencing. But for the most part, having border patrolled, surveillance, deploying effective technology, that’s going to be the better approach.”