Thread: Wasserman Schultz: Romney an extremist on immigration

By Ben Wolfgang

July 8, 2012, 10:05AM

The Washington Times

The head of the Democratic National Committee on Sunday continued her party's all-out push for the Hispanic vote ahead of the November presidential election and tried to convince the minority group they should be afraid of what Mitt Romney would do.

"Mitt Romney is the most extreme presidential candidate in history on immigration policy," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Democrat, said during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" after being asked about the above-average unemployment rate for Hispanics in the U.S.

Figures released late last week show 11 percent of Hispanics still out of work, nearly three percentage points higher than the 8.2 unemployment number for the nation as a whole.

Mr. Romney has said he would veto the Democrats' Dream Act, which would grant amnesty to many illegal immigrants. That declaration has led many Democrats, such as Ms. Schultz, to paint him as an extremist on the issue of immigration.

While the Dream Act remains stalled in Congress, President Obama last month took a step in that direction through executive order, allowing hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. and instructing federal agencies not to target them for deportation.

In his immigration policy platform, Mr. Romney emphasizes that "amnesty should not be permitted to happen again," while he stresses the growth of legal immigration, fixing the temporary worker visa system and securing the border with Mexico.

Wasserman Schultz: Romney an extremist on immigration - Washington Times