Thread: After Iowa, Report Offers Snapshot of Where Candidates Stand on Immigration

After Iowa, Report Offers Snapshot of Where Candidates Stand on Immigration .

Wednesday, 04 January 2012 21:59 Press Release Analysis

WASHINGTON--(ENEWSPF)--January 4 - Today, America’s Voice releases an updated version of the report Why Do Elephants Put their Heads in the Sand?, which examines the immigration record and rhetoric of the Republican presidential field. The report assesses how, in contrast to past Republican leaders like Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party as a whole has moved to the anti-immigrant right. As a result, the GOP’s stance on immigration will hurt its competitiveness with Latino voters in 2012 battleground states. For example, Mitt Romney’s recent pledge to veto the DREAM Act crystalizes the problems that he and the Republican Party as a whole have in regards to immigration and Latino voters.

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On a press call tomorrow, Thursday January 5th at 11 AM Eastern, experts on Latino voters, the politics of immigration, and the DREAM Act will gather to discuss why Romney’s recent comments on the DREAM Act – and the entire field’s strategy of tacking to the hard right on immigration in the primaries – threaten the GOP’s chances in the general election (see call-in information below). The speakers will also share analysis and insight from the updated America’s Voice report. For example, the report assesses the immigration record and rhetoric of the top four finishers in last night’s Iowa caucuses:

Mitt Romney: Examining Mitt Romney’s immigration stance during the 2012 campaign, it’s hard to believe that this is the same man who once said Republicans who opposed President Bush’s proposal for comprehensive immigration reform “made a big mistake.” But while the endorsement of Joe Arpaio during the 2008 campaign wasn’t enough to protect Romney from charges of weakness on immigration, his anti-immigrant cred throughout the 2012 campaign has been impeccable. Romney has made immigration the centerpiece of his attack on two different rivals for the nomination, only to discover that immigration is not the potent wedge issue he seemed to believe. As the presumptive Republican frontrunner, Romney's current stance on immigration—including his pledge to veto the DREAM Act if passed--will cost him with Latino voters. Lionel Sosa, a Republican strategist who worked for George W. Bush and John McCain, predicted to the New York Times that Romney “can make as many trips to Florida and New Mexico and Colorado and other swing states that have a large Latino population, but he can write off the Latino vote. He’s not going to gain it again.”

Rick Santorum: Former Senator Rick Santorum was a vocal opponent of comprehensive immigration reform in 2006. He made anti-immigrant rhetoric a key part of his reelection campaign that fall, but it wasn’t a winning strategy. Santorum’s strategy on immigration during the campaign has been to try to outdo his opponents in the callousness of his casual statements about immigrants. Whether confusing “illegal voters” with “Latino voters” or assuming that all undocumented immigrants come from Mexico, Santorum’s comments have said plenty about how he, and most of the other Republican candidates, see the nation's fastest-growing voter bloc. In the final days before the Iowa caucuses, Santorum made yet another attempt to appeal to the far right on immigration by calling himself “a Steve King guy on immigration.”

Ron Paul: Texas Representative Ron Paul is far from a classic pro-immigration libertarian. Though he opposes mandatory E-Verify legislation, Paul supports repealing birthright citizenship, voted against the DREAM Act in 2010, and said this summer, “why do we pay more attention to the borders overseas and less attention to the borders here at home.” Notably, Paul also revealed that his opposition to “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants has a distinctly political element and stems from not wanting them to become voters: at an August debate, Paul said, “I don’t think that we should give amnesty and they become voters.”

Newt Gingrich: Gingrich, alone among the Republican field, has proposed an immigration plan that would allow some of the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country to obtain legal status. However, since Gingrich only wants to deport 9 million people as opposed to 11 million people, it would be a mistake to label him a moderate on the issue. In fact, his position on immigration reform is far to the right of what George W. Bush and John McCain once supported. Though Gingrich failed to protect his earlier lead in the Iowa polls and finished fourth overall, there’s no evidence that his immigration position played a role. In fact, in the weeks following Gingrich’s immigration comments and after his challengers attacked him vociferously on this issue, polling showed that Iowa voters nonetheless trusted Gingrich the most on immigration among the field of candidates. Overall, voters in the primary season are less focused on the immigration issue that candidates seem to think. For example, in Iowa caucus entrance polling, immigration was nowhere to be seen among the top issues motivating Republican caucus-goers’ votes.

http://www.enewspf.com/opinion/analy...migration.html

utsandiego.com
Written by
Elizabeth Aguilera
noon, Jan. 5, 2012


Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn, stand together prior to their Republican debate, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. Newt Gingrich has leapfrogged Mitt Romney to become the GOP front-runner and is the expected prime target for his rivals at their latest presidential debate less than a month before the leadoff vote to determine President Barack Obama's challenger. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) — AP

With GOP presidential contenders now working their way through New Hampshire in anticipation of Tuesday’s primary after a hard fought fight in Iowa their immigration stances are under scrutiny.

America’s Voice, a Washington D.C. organization that supports immigration reform, released a report Thursday about the GOP candidates and their records on immigration.

In Iowa, Mitt Romney took the most votes with Rick Santorum coming in a very close second. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich ranked third and fourth with voters.

Highlights from the report about the top four candidates:


FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaks in Des Moines, Iowa. The Republicans' identity crisis is producing the most volatile presidential primary season in memory and threatening to dilute the conservative fervor that swept the party to huge wins in 2010. Mitt Romney is the pragmatic, establishment choice, but he has yet to attract more than a quarter of GOP voters _ a sign of a still-unsettled race. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) — AP

Mitt Romney: As governor of Massachusetts in 2004 Romney vetoed giving undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates. In 2005 he said President George W. Bush’s proposal for comprehensive report was a “reasonable proposal.” The following year he endorsed a pathway to citizenship being talked about in Congress which later failed. In 2006 he was found to have hired a landscaping company that employed undocumented immigrants, he later fired the company. In 2008 he endorsed Maricopa County Sheriff Joe. During the campaign season so far, Romney promised to veto any DREAM ACT legislation, expressed support for “attrition through enforcement,” and increased deportation after a period for settling affairs in the U.S..


Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum pumps his fist during a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., Wednesday Jan. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) — AP

Rick Santorum: As a U.S. Senator Santorum opposed comprehensive immigration reform in 2006. During the campaign he has confused “illegal voters” with “Latino voters.” He assumed during a speech that all illegal immigrants are from Mexico and said he was comfortable deporting them because Mexico is a nice country. He has also recently called himself a “Steve King guy on immigration.” Steve King is one of the most conservative members of Congress on immigration issues.


Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas campaigns at the Steeple Gate Inn in Davenport, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) — AP

Ron Paul: As a Texas Rep. Paul opposes mandatory E-Verify legislation, introduced bills to repeal birthright citizenship and voted against the DREAM Act in 2010. As a candidate he has said he would oppose any amnesty or pathway to citizenship for the illegal immigrants who live in the U.S..


Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during his caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) — AP

Newt Gingrich: Is the only Republican candidate who has proposed a plan that includes allowing some of the illegal immigrants to gain legal status in the U.S.. His plan includes those who have been in the U.S. for 25 years or more and how are approved by their local leaders. Gingrich estimated that the plan would apply to about 2 million undocumented immigrants and that the rest would be deported. If he is elected he has also promised to complete the border fence and make deportation easier. In the past he has said that liberal only won election because of illegal voting, in 2007 he opposed comprehensive immigration reform.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/...n-immigration/