During his Utah Senate campaign, Romney said that he believes in welcoming immigrants and rebuked Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Romney's support for immigration in his ad "reflects the moderate position of many Utah Republicans on immigration, which is shaped by the progressive stance of the Mormon Church here as well as the individual experiences of many Mormons during their two-year missions abroad." Just prior to launching his first ad, Romney had also criticized Trump for his remark that some immigrants are from "shithole countries;" "The poverty of an aspiring immigrant's nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race. The sentiment attributed to POTUS is inconsistent w/ America's history and antithetical to American values."