Hillary Blunts Bush, Rubio Appeal to Hispanics

USA Today (Opinion)

By Paul Reyes

May 6, 2015

Hillary blunts Bush, Rubio appeal to Hispanics 

Game on. That was the message Tuesday from Hillary Clinton to her prospective Republican rivals. At a campaign event in Las Vegas, the Democratic presidential candidate announced her support for a "full and equal path to citizenship" for the undocumented. Stepping forcefully into the immigration debate, Clinton vowed to defend and expand executive action on immigration, and to keep families together. "We have to finally, once and for all, fix our immigration system," she said.

Clinton's immigration stance is as surprising as it is welcome. It places her in stark contrast to her GOP rivals for the presidential nomination. Her announcement will galvanize Latino voters, and could just shake up the 2016 race.

Clinton's new immigration position is a nightmare for the GOP. By advocating strongly for a path to citizenship, she is daring Republicans into a fight she knows she can win. Her progressive stance sets her clearly apart from Jeb Bush, who favors "earned legal status" for the undocumented. Clinton took a jab at Bush's plan, noting, "When they talk about 'legal status,' that is code for 'second-class status.' " Clinton has also distinguished herself from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who lately has backed off his 2013 support for comprehensive reform. He now favors reform only after tougher enforcement at the border.

By fully endorsing a pathway to citizenship, Clinton has blunted Bush and Rubio's potential appeal to Hispanics. Plus, she has just made Bush and Rubio's balancing act between the conservative base and Latino voters much harder.

Bold, not cautious

Clinton's announcement was refreshing for its boldness, considering that she is often accused of being overly cautious on contentious issues. In the past, Clinton has shied away from taking liberal stances on immigration. In 2007, she was against driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants; she is now for them. When asked in 2014 whether she supported the president's executive action, she offered the awkward answer that country needed to "elect more Democrats." She said that the child migrants who flooded the southern border last year "should be sent back."

Given this history, many immigration advocates were wary of Clinton's commitment to immigration reform. But that was then, this is now. As of Tuesday, a headline at BuzzFeed read "Hillary Clinton just won over much of the skeptical immigrant activist movement." Frank Sharry of the pro-reform group America's Voice tweeted that his group was "surprised and thrilled" by Clinton.

To her credit, Clinton didn't just offer support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. She called for reforming immigration enforcement procedures, "so that they're more humane, targeted and effective," and for reforming our immigration detention system. Here Clinton seems to be more liberal than President Obama, who has long faced criticism over immigrant detention center conditions.

Speaking about executive action, Clinton said she wants to offer its protections to another category of immigrants – the parents of DREAMers who already have Deferred Action status. No wonder the website Vox proclaimed that, "Hillary just took a stunningly aggressive stance on immigration reform."

Strategically, Clinton's immigration announcement makes good sense. In the 2014 midterm elections, Latino voters said that immigration reform was the No. 1 issue they wanted the president and Congress to address. That same year, polling by the research firm Latino Decisions found that an overwhelming 85% of Latino voters said that they would support Clinton, provided she renewed president Obama's executive actions on immigration.

Meanwhile, a survey this year from the Public Religion Research Institute found that the public continues to support comprehensive reform. So Clinton is not just responding to the needs of Latinos and immigration advocates, she is acknowledging that a majority of voters want immigration solutions.

Just promises for now

True, for now, Clinton's immigration proposals are just promises. But by laying them out so early, she is making herself accountable to immigration reform advocates. And the pro-reform crowd has learned lessons from their disappointments with President Obama over his immigration promises. Activists will no doubt keep up the pressure on candidate Clinton to improve the lives of immigrants.

If Clinton stays true to the positions she laid out Tuesday, the rewards could potentially help put her in the White House. Consider that Latino voters could well make a difference in battleground states like Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida. Or that the last two election cycles have shown that Latino voter turnout is higher when there is enthusiasm from immigration advocates.

For Hillary Clinton, leaning in on immigration is smart politics and smart policy. Bravo to her for staking out a humane, inclusive, and progressive stance on immigration.

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com