Romney’s statement on the immigration deal:

“I strongly oppose today’s bill going through the Senate. It is the wrong approach. Any legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country indefinitely, as the new ‘Z-Visa’ does, is a form of amnesty. That is unfair to the millions of people who have applied to legally immigrate to the U.S. “Today’s Senate agreement falls short of the actions needed to both solve our country’s illegal immigration problem and also strengthen our legal immigration system. Border security and a reliable employment verification system must be our first priority.”

At least one of Romney’s rivals is pointing to Captain Ed’s post, suggesting the deal in Congress is pretty much what Romney wanted to see. Ed asks, “if this bill has the touchback provision, and it has the Z-visa and the formal guest-worker program, and really secures the border, then it meets his requirements … doesn’t it?”

I don’t know whether a “flip-flopper” accusation will cut through the deafening roar of “you spineless sellouts, we hate you” coming from the GOP base right now…

UPDATE: A friend of Romney notes, “In the debate (as quoted by Ed), Governor Romney said, ‘If you’re here illegally, you should not have a special pathway to become a permanent resident.’ An indefinitely renewable Z-visa is precisely such a special pathway to permanent residency.”