Cantor's shift on immigration

Cantor's shift on immigration
02/05/2013

By Luke Russert, Capitol Hill Correspondent, NBC News

Eric Cantor seems to have moved more to the middle on immigration, according to prepared remarks the House majority leader will deliver Tuesday at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington conservative think tank.

Cantor has always been in favor of giving visas to highly skilled immigrants educated in America, but today he takes it a step further, calling for legal residence and citizenship for children brought here illegally by their parents and a guest-worker program.

Cantor also says to stop making immigration a wedge issue.

"While we are a nation that allows anyone to start anew, we are also a nation of laws, and that's what makes tackling the issue of immigration reform so difficult," Cantor will say, according to prepared remarks. "In looking to solve this problem soon, we must balance respect for the rule of law and respect for those waiting to enter this country legally, with care for the people and families, most of whom just want to make a better life, and contribute to America.

"A good place to start is with the kids. One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents. It is time to provide an opportunity for legal residence and citizenship for those who were brought to this country as children and who know no other home. I'm pleased that many of my colleagues in both chambers of Congress on both sides of the aisle have begun work in good faith to address these issues. And I'm pleased these discussions make border security, employment verification and creating a workable guest worker program an immediate priority. It's the right thing to do for our families, for our security, and for our economy.

"There are some who would rather avoid fixing the problem in order to save this as a political issue. I reject this notion and call on the President to help lead us towards a bipartisan solution rather than encourage the common political divisions of the past."

Cantor does not provide any specifics in his speech and was never too enamored with the DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for children brought to the U.S. illegally back in 2010.

However, his position today seems to indicate that the man, who controls the legislation that makes it to the House floor, is open to making illegal-immigrant minors full citizens. The key will be for what price.

This is also significant because House Speaker John Boehner declined today to explicitly back a pathway to citizenship similar to what Marco Rubio proposed last week.

Cantor's shift on immigration - First Read

No surprise here. We have known for some time that both Boehner and Cantor are sellouts on illegal immigration and amnesty.

W

Video at the source link if you think you can stomach it.
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Reuters | Posted: 02/10/2013 12:06 pm EST | Updated: 02/10/2013 3:51 pm EST
By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A top U.S. Republican lawmaker said on Sunday he would support granting citizenship to children who are undocumented in the country in a sign that conservatives who oppose immigration amnesty will be playing defense as Congress takes on immigration reform in the coming months.

Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, said Congress could make quick progress on immigration if lawmakers agreed to give citizenship to children - an idea he opposed when it came up for a vote in 2010 as the DREAM Act.

"The best place to begin, I think, is with the children. Let's go ahead and get that under our belt, put a win on the board," Cantor said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Cantor is leading an effort to improve his party's image as many Republicans worry they will be consigned to irrelevancy in coming years if they do not reach out to the fast-growing Latino electorate, which strongly supports immigration reform.

President Barack Obama has made immigration reform a top priority of his second term in office and a bipartisan group of senators is working to draft legislation that would tackle the issue in a comprehensive manner, rather than the piecemeal approach that Cantor suggested.

Republican Senator John McCain, who is involved in that effort, said his group aims to provide a path to citizenship for all of those who are undocumented in the United States, not just children, as long as border security is tightened.

"There are 11 million people living in the shadows. I believe that they deserve to come out of the shadows," McCain said on "Fox News Sunday."

That could be a tough sell for many of Cantor's Republicans in the House, who say it would amount to amnesty for those who willingly broke the law.

"We want to make sure we're compassionate and sensitive to their plight - these kids know no other place as home. On the other hand, we are a country of laws," Cantor said.

Cantor declined to say whether he would support a pathway to citizenship for adults as well. He could be forced to take a stand one way or the other if McCain and his colleagues manage to pass their legislation out of the Senate.

Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said Cantor's support for citizenship for children was a positive sign. But he said his colleagues in the Senate would be pushing for more.

"I've met these young people, and they will tell you, yes, I want a future, but what about my mom and dad?" Durbin said on "Meet the Press." "We're not stopping with the DREAM act, we're beginning with the DREAM act and pushing forward." (Reporting by Andy Sullivan, additional reporting by Xavier Briand; Editing by Bill Trott)

Eric Cantor On Immigration: Children Of The Undocumented Should Get Citizenship (VIDEO)