Time
By Alex Altman
May 17, 2015
The GOP wanted to talk differently about immigration in 2016. Instead they're trying to avoid talking about it at all
Sitting
in a hotel conference room of a Scottsdale, Ariz., resort, Mike
Huckabee kibitzed with a few reporters Friday about issues ranging from
the Iraq War to the suspension
of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
But
when the talk turned to whether undocumented immigrants should have a
path to U.S. citizenship, the former Arkansas governor clammed up.
“Until we have a secure border,”
Huckabee demurred, “there isn’t any other discussion for us to be
having.”
Huckabee
isn’t the only Republican presidential candidate to dodge the topic
lately. As the 2016 race ramps up, GOP candidates are increasingly
skirting the specifics
of immigration policy. It’s a trend that threatens the party’s hopes of
reclaiming the White House.
Routed
in the battle for Hispanic voters in 2012, the Republican Party
promised to speak differently about immigration this time. But the need
to repair its relationship
with Latinos has collided with its candidates’ need to court the
conservative activists who dominate the GOP nominating contest. As a
result, many of the party’s presidential hopefuls don’t want to divulge
the details of their positions on an issue with major
political and policy ramifications.
To
discern the differences between the candidates on immigration, TIME
distributed a brief survey to declared and likely White House hopefuls.
The questions focused on
the fate of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently
in the U.S., a subject at the heart of the bipartisan debate over
comprehensive immigration reform:
Do
you support an eventual pathway to citizenship for undocumented
immigrants currently residing in the U.S., and if so, under what
conditions?
Do
you support an eventual pathway to legal status short of citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S., and if so,
under what conditions?
Do
you support a separate process to give legal status or citizenship to
undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors?
Do
you support any government benefits, such as in-state college tuition,
for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors?
Some
likely GOP candidates offered clear and succinct answers. Former
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was a “no” on all four, according to his
spokesman. South Carolina
Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the architects of the Senate’s bipartisan
attempt to overhaul U.S. immigration laws in 2013, stuck by his support
for a path to citizenship under detailed conditions.
“Citizenship
need not be mandatory, but it needs to be an option for those who are
qualified,” said Graham spokeswoman Brittany Bramell. Graham also backed
a process to
give legal status or citizenship—along with government benefits like
in-state tuition—to minors brought to the U.S. by their parents.
But
the majority of the field offered muddier responses, or declined to
answer at all. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was one of several to argue
the debate should be postponed
until the southern border is secured.
“Any
discussion about dealing with who is already here is counterproductive
until the border is secure,” Jindal told TIME in a statement issued
through his spokesman.
“Any attempt to deal with the millions of people who are currently in
this country illegally prior to securing the border is illogical, and is
nothing more than amnesty.”
Asked
about a pathway to legal status for undocumented workers who met
certain conditions, Jindal dismissed it as “a hypothetical
conversation.” As for legal status or citizenship for those brought to the U.S. as minors, Jindal turned the
focus to Obama. “A serious discussion about those individuals is just
not possible right now because of the reckless policies of this
administration,” he said. “This President has done
everything he can to encourage illegal immigration.”
Texas
Sen. Ted Cruz, whose path to the GOP nomination runs through the
conservative grassroots, opposes a path to citizenship for the
undocumented. But it’s unclear where
Cruz, who casts himself as a proponent of immigration reform, stands on
the matter of legal status. He did not directly answer questions from
TIME at a recent question-and-answer session hosted by the U.S. Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce.
These
evasions reflect the divisiveness of a topic that splits the party’s
bigwigs and its base. The fate of the estimated 11 million undocumented
immigrants currently
in the U.S. is such a freighted question among conservative activists
in early voting states like Iowa that White House hopefuls are leery of
sinking their campaigns with a single slip of the tongue.
Take
former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is likely to launch his second
campaign for the presidency next month. Many recall the brain freeze
Perry suffered in the middle
of a 2011 debate as the moment his first bid for the White House went
awry. But the face plant capped a free fall set in motion at an earlier
debate, when Perry excoriated critics of in-state tuition breaks for
undocumented minors. “If you say that we should
not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason
than they have been brought there by no fault of their own,” Perry
argued then, “I don’t think you have a heart.”
Perry
takes a different tack now. In response to TIME’s questions, a
spokesman for the former Lone Star State governor compiled a summary of
his tough record on illegal
immigration, including a “border surge” to stem the tide of
undocumented immigrants from Central America in 2014, an increase in
border-security funding and a mandate for state agencies and contractors
to use e-verify, an electronic system designed to prevent
employers from hiring undocumented workers. “Under Gov. Rick Perry’s
leadership, Texas did more to secure the southern border than any state
in the nation,” said spokesman Travis Considine.
Perry
isn’t the only Republican to recalibrate his approach. Wisconsin Gov.
Scott Walker has shifted on immigration more than any other GOP
candidate. Once a supporter
of a path to citizenship, Walker is now a firm no. “He believes citizenship should be reserved for those who follow the law from the
beginning,” spokeswoman AshLee Strong told TIME. Asked if Walker
supported an eventual pathway to legal status for those in
the U.S. illegally or a separate process for undocumented immigrants
brought to the U.S. as minors, Strong replied: “He believes that
following the President’s illegal executive action, the U.S.’s
priorities must be repealing the executive action, securing
the border, and enforcing the laws on the books while implementing a
workable e-verify system.”
Florida
Sen. Marco Rubio, who helped craft the 2013 Senate measure, has edged
away from his support of a comprehensive reform bill; he now says he
would support a path
to citizenship only after tough border measures are imposed first.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a fluent Spanish speaker whose wife is
from Mexico, is a supporter of immigration reform who has urged the
party to rethink its approach on immigration. But while
he once spoke favorably about a path to citizenship, he prefers a path
to earned legal status.
“Governor
Bush believes once immigrants who entered illegally as adults plead
guilty and pay the applicable fines or perform community service, they
should become eligible
to start the process to earn legal status,” spokeswoman Allie
Brandenburger told TIME. “Such earned legal status should entail paying
taxes, learning English, committing no substantial crimes, and not
receiving government benefits. Governor Bush believes this
must be accompanied by measures to secure the border and reform
America’s broken immigration system to make it economically driven.”
Candidates
like Bush and Rubio are trying to navigate the tightrope on a tricky
policy issue by taking a position that can win over moderate voters
(including the center-right
business community, which favors reform) without alienating the GOP
base. Their position grew more precarious recently, when likely
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, vying to maintain the party’s grip
on the nation’s fastest-growing demographic group, positioned
herself as a greater advocate of undocumented workers than anyone in
the field.
“We
can’t wait any longer for a path to full and equal citizenship,” she
said, claiming Republican candidate has consistently supported that
policy. “When they talk about
‘legal status,’ that is code for second-class status.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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