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Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is the most vociferous advocate for a strict immigration policy that respects American workers among the crowded field of 2016 presidential hopefuls, Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said Thursday.

Mr. Stein, who faced off against Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist at a debate sponsored by The Washington Times, said other potential Republican candidates are coming around to backing a crackdown, but Mr. Santorum has gone the furthest.

Santorum is really the only one who is drilling down in to the nuts and bolts and is looking in to the job market and how immigration is really hurting American workers, said Mr. Stein, who wants to see both curbs to illegal immigration and a lower level of legal immigration into the U.S.

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This month in a speech in Iowa, Mr. Santorum said the U.S. immigration system isnt working and the country must better secure the border and create legal programs for workers with different skills.

Mr. Norquist, who backs a more generous immigration policy, said the 2016 candidates are still developing their stances and its too early to pick a champion from his point of view.

Mr. Stein and Mr. Norquist found little middle ground, even differing over how to pursue border security legislation in the newly all GOP-controlled Congress.

Mr. Norquist said that the government must make border security its first priority by possibly expanding the drone program already being used in Texas in order to pave the way for a bill expanding and revamping guest worker programs that would allow verified skilled workers to come in to the country and contribute to the economy.

He argued that verified guest worker programs will lead to less crime and more legal immigration in the long run, making border security easier to maintain.

Mr. Stein, however, said immigration enforcement must focus on the interior.

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Rick Santorum's strict immigration stance lauded by Dan Stein