--- title: GOP Debate: Lindsey Graham Defends Unorthodox Positions description: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham defended his positions on climate change and immigration at the third Republican undercard debate. canonical: https://time.com/4091787/republican-debate-lindsey-graham-climate-change/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-28T22:53:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:58.161Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's How Lindsey Graham Defended His Unorthodox Positions og:description: On immigration and climate change. og:url: https://time.com/4091787/republican-debate-lindsey-graham-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67972e546b2d7c4f/69886e9d0b72e378426e68b4/lindsey-graham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: Republican U.S. presidential candidate Pataki speaks as Graham listens at a forum for lower polling candidates held by CNBC before the main debate in Boulder og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How Lindsey Graham Defended His Unorthodox Positions twitter:description: On immigration and climate change. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67972e546b2d7c4f/69886e9d0b72e378426e68b4/lindsey-graham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How Lindsey Graham Defended His Unorthodox Positions > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 28, 2015 10:53 PM UTC  Republican U.S. presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki (L) speaks as Rep. Lindsey Graham listens at a forum for lower polling candidates held by CNBC before their U.S. Republican presidential candidates debate in Boulder, Colorado Oct. 28, 2015. Republican U.S. presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki (L) speaks as Rep. Lindsey Graham listens at a forum for lower polling candidates held by CNBC before their U.S. Republican presidential candidates debate in Boulder, Colorado Oct. 28, 2015. Rick Wilkng—Reuters  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 28, 2015 10:53 PM UTC South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham defended his unorthodox positions on immigration and global warming at the third Republican debate. After one of the CNBC moderators asked the Republican Senator if he would be better suited on the Democratic stage since he supports immigration reform and addressing climate change through legislation. “I think I’m trying to solve problems that somebody better solve,” the South Carolina Senator said of his positions on climate change, accepting tax increases as part of a budget deal and co-sponsoring a Senate immigration bill providing a path to citizenship. “I have been to the Antarctic, I have been to Alaska,” he said of climate change. “I am not a scientist, and I have the grades to prove it. But I’ve talked to the climatologists of the world and 90% of them are telling me that the greenhouse gas effect is real, that we’re heating up the planet. I just want a solution that would be good for the economy that doesn’t destroy it.” On immigration, he argued that the borders can’t be secured without addressing other issues on immigration. “We’re going to fix immigration only if we work together,” he said. “I want to secure the border because if we don’t, we’re going to get hurt and hit again. I want to fix our broken Visa system, I want to increase legal immigration because we’re going to have a shortage of workers over time. “We’re not going to deport 11 million people,” he continued, “But we will deport felons. And those who stay will have to learn our language to stay.” **Read More:** [_Transcript: Read the Full Text of the Undercard CNBC Debate in Boulder_](http://time.com/4091725/republican-debate-cnbc-undercard-transcript-full-text/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4091787/republican-debate-lindsey-graham-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4091787/republican-debate-lindsey-graham-climate-change/"},"headline":"Here's How Lindsey Graham Defended His Unorthodox Positions","datePublished":"2015-10-28T22:53:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:46:58.161Z","description":"South Carolina Sen. 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