“In 2004, George W. Bush won 45 percent of the Hispanic vote, and it seemed that the GOP was well on its way to winning the hearts, minds and votes of the fastest growing demographic in America. Fast forward to 2012: Mitt Romney pulled just 27 percent of Hispanics,” says David Laska at Fox News Latino<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Now, some voices in the Republican Party are calling for unconditional amnesty for some undocumented immigrants as an olive branch to Hispanic voters. It\u2019s a shortsighted strategy that ignores a fundamental but rarely uttered truth about illegal immigration: illegal immigration isn\u2019t just bad for the country, it\u2019s bad for the immigrant.”<\/p>\n[The 45 percent figure is too high. Bush received 40 percent, but the number is commonly mis-reported.]\n “[Sen.] Rubio, whose parents emigrated from Cuba, has long been an advocate for immigration reform and drafted legislation that supposedly echoed provisions in the DREAM Act, Democratic-backed legislation aimed to help undocumented students gain legal status. The [DREAM Act] failed to garner enough support in Congress, despite several attempts,” CNN reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Before unveiling his immigration plan, however, Rubio shelved the legislation after President Barack Obama issued a directive earlier this year that allows certain people younger than 30, who came to the United States illegally before age 16, to apply for a two-year deferral from deportation.”<\/p>\n “There are many troublesome aspects of the Schumer-Graham plan in terms of what it embodies and suggests. But the refusal to embrace something Ronald Reagan championed not too long ago (in, among other venues, a presidential debate with Democratic candidate Walter Mondale in 1984\u2014see below) is perhaps the most painful manifestation of how much the political spectrum has moved in a direction of immigration restriction. So instead of a general amnesty\u2014or whatever one might want to call it–for those living in the United States without legal status, what is on offer is far more limited,” says history professor Joseph Nevins at NACLA.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n “President Obama expects to see a comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in Congress \u201cvery soon\u201d after his inauguration in late January, he said during a news conference Wednesday,” the LA Times<\/a> writes. “Obama said that White House staff has already begun conversations with members of the Senate and the House on how to line up the votes to get an immigration bill to his desk for signing.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ‘Recalibration’ on Immigration? “In 2004, George W. Bush won 45 percent of the Hispanic vote, and it seemed that the GOP was well on its way to winning the hearts, minds and votes of the fastest growing demographic in America. Fast forward to 2012: Mitt Romney pulled just 27 percent of Hispanics,” says David Laska<\/p>\nRubio Says Iowa Visit Not Related to 2016, Pushes Immigration Bill<\/h3>\n
Schumer-Graham Plan Already Criticized for Being Too Strict<\/h3>\n
Obama Says Amnesty Bill Likely in January<\/h3>\n