International Business Times
By Eric Brown
April 8, 2014
House
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) are at
odds on immigration policy, and their differences hint at the GOP’s
impending intraparty battle
over how to address Hispanic voters.
On
Sunday, the former Republican governor of Florida, widely considered a
2016 front-runner, appeared on Fox News and claimed that sometimes,
undocumented immigrants make
their way to America out of love for their families. It’s a strong
break from the hard line against illegal immigration adopted by many
established conservatives, and one that reflects his home state’s
growing Hispanic population.
“It’s
an act of love. It’s an act of commitment to your family,” Bush said.
“I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime. There should
be a price paid, but
it shouldn’t rile people up that people are actually coming to this
country to provide for their families.”
In
the same interview, Bush also reiterated his support for immigration
reform, on which Boehner has been notoriously hesitant to work with
President Obama.
The
next day, Boehner also made an appearance on Fox News, where he took
fire at Bush’s comments on immigration. After casting blame on Obama for
problems involving immigration
reform, Boehner claimed that while Bush’s support for undocumented
immigrants may not hurt his chances in 2016, he’s mistaken in offering
leniency and sympathy toward immigrants who may have broken the law
coming to America.
“Listen,
to most people around the world, the United States is utopia, and,
frankly, most people in the world want to come here, so I understand
what Jeb was saying,”
Boehner said on “The Kelly File” Monday. “But we’re also a nation of
laws. And for those who are here without documents, they’re going to
have to face the law at some point.”
Florida
is home to an ever-increasing Hispanic population that has skyrocketed
in the past decade and shows no signs of slowing growth. In 2000,
Hispanics made up approximately
16.8 percent of Florida’s population. By 2005, that number had
increased to 19.8 percent before taking an even larger leap to 23.2
percent by 2012. Bush knows this. He governed the state for eight years,
and he knows that Republicans can’t afford to alienate
Hispanics any longer with harsh immigration politics.
Boehner,
on the other hand, doesn’t have to deal with this fact himself. By
contrast, Hispanics make up only 3.3 percent of Ohio’s population, a
small enough percentage
that Boehner can afford not to make concessions toward Hispanic voters.
That tactic may work in Ohio, but not on a national scale, especially
not as national demographics continue to shift in the direction of a
less white America.
Nominally,
most Republicans seem to recognize this, but there’s been little
progress despite the 2013 GOP “autopsy report” and its recommendation
that the party reach
out to minority voters. House Republicans, led by Boehner, still drag
their feet on immigration reform, for instance.
Bush
may not be the most popular Republican candidate considering a 2016 run
at the moment, but he understands that the Republican Party has to
reach out to more than
white voters. Several established Republicans have bashed Bush because
he hasn’t held office since leaving the Florida governorship since 2007,
but that could be an advantage for Bush. He hasn’t spent the last seven
years pandering to an aggressive Tea Party
contingent and is thus free to brand himself as a moderate candidate,
one Americans of more diverse backgrounds can get behind.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment