Romney's Fine Line on Immigration

Wall Street Journal (Article by Laura Meckler and Janet Hook):  Mitt Romney's address Thursday to Latino politicians will test whether he is willing to stake out immigration policy more in line with a growing bloc of Hispanic voters. But his bigger challenge may be striking a tone acceptable to his Republican Party, which remains deeply divided on the issue.

GOP congressional leaders are hoping Mr. Romney, with the Florida speech, will find a way to bridge divisions and define the party's response to President Barack Obama's announcement last week that he would allow many young people who came to the U.S. illegally as children to stay and apply for work permits.

That announcement was cheered by Hispanic leaders and likely boosted the president's standing with Hispanics. It also reignited longstanding tensions within the GOP between those who consider aid for people who came to the U.S. illegally to be an unacceptable form of amnesty, and those looking for a softer approach—in part to appeal to Hispanic constituents.

This week, two House conservatives introduced separate bills to block Mr. Obama's policy. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), meanwhile, had been working to write a version of the president's approach into law before declaring his effort dead, since there is no urgency to act after Mr. Obama's move.

For their part, Republican leaders have been largely silent on Mr. Obama's announcement. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky pointedly deflected reporters' questions this week when pressed for his views, deferring to Mr. Romney's coming speech.

Those contrasting responses underscore the difficulty Mr. Romney faces Thursday, when he addresses the National Association of Latino Elected Officials. Mr. Obama speaks Friday to the same group, which has endorsed his new policy.

During the Republican primaries, the former Massachusetts governor struck a hard line on immigration, saying among other things that he would veto the Dream Act, legislation thwarted by Republicans in 2010 that would have offered a path to citizenship for many of those affected by Mr. Obama's move. Mr. Romney predicted that people here illegally would "self deport" if the government cracked down on their ability to work.

Since he wrapped up the GOP presidential nomination, Mr. Romney's rhetoric hasn't been as pointed. On Sunday, he declined to say whether he would void the Obama policy if elected, saying only that he would work with Congress to find a more permanent policy on illegal immigrants.

Now, Mr. Romney is under new pressure to weigh in more directly at a time when his campaign instead has been courting Hispanic by arguing they have suffered disproportionately from Mr. Obama's economic policies. On a conference call with reporters Wednesday meant to focus on the economy, Lanhee Chen, Mr. Romney's policy director, declined to address questions about immigration policy, and officials abruptly ended the call after the first three questioners asked about it.

Democrats hope to hold Mr. Romney to the positions he took in the primary. "He's hopelessly twisted up on this issue," David Axelrod, senior Obama strategist, said Wednesday. "He went as far to the right as he could in the primaries to become the nominee.…[Now] he's desperately looking for a way out."

A Romney spokeswoman declined to comment.

The conservative viewpoint within the GOP was voiced this week by Reps. Ben Quayle and David Schweikert, who are running against each other in Arizona. Each introduced bills designed to block Mr. Obama's move.

"Last week, the president decided to grant amnesty and hand out work permits to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, while over 23 million Americans remain unemployed and the civilian participation rate is at a 30-year low," Mr. Schweikert said.

His bill has just 20 Republican cosponsors so far, but is an emblem of one faction of the party.

By contrast, GOP leaders are expressing sympathy for those affected, a shift from the tone set long ago by conservatives who have focused on legal aspects.

House Speaker John Boehner, for instance, responded to questions about the new policy by attacking how it was implemented rather than the policy itself. "I think we all have concerns for those who are caught in this trap, who through no fault of their own are here," the Ohio Republican said.

And Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), a leading Romney ally and possible running mate, said, "Everyone has empathy for these young people and wants to address this issue."

The debate comes as Hispanics continue to grow as a share of the electorate, particularly in battleground states such as Nevada, Colorado and Florida. Mr. Obama won 67% of the Hispanic vote in 2008, and his campaign believes it can make up for expected losses among white voters by increasing the Latino share of the electorate.

The last immigration vote in Congress was December 2010, when the Senate fell five votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a Republican filibuster against the Dream Act. Three Republicans supported the bill.