Struggling Illinois Republican incumbents defy party on immigration
Erin Kelly, USAToday 1:13 p.m. EDT August 8, 2016
Two endangered Republican members of Congress from Illinois will buck their party's platform on immigration Wednesday as they highlight their support for a pathway to citizenship for many of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Sen. Mark Kirk and Rep. Bob Dold are embracing the kind of immigration reform supported by most Democratic members of Congress but denounced as "amnesty" by most Republicans, including GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump has called for the construction of a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and has warned that some undocumented Mexican immigrants are rapists and murderers.
Kirk and Dold will join elected officials and business leaders from Illinois and Florida to speak at an immigration policy roundtable Wednesday in Chicago.
"The speakers will be coming together to discuss best practices for engaging bipartisan members of Congress to pass sensible reform that expands visas for high and low skilled workers and agricultural workers, and creates a path to citizenship for undocumented workers," according to a press release by the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition.
The coalition is hosting the event along with FWD.us, a pro-immigration advocacy group backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The tech industry wants to bring in more computer scientists from other countries.
Kirk and Dold are fighting for re-election in contests rated "toss-ups" by the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
Kirk's race against Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth is expected to be one of the closest in the nation. Dold is facing a strong challenge from former Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider.
Both Kirk and Dold are considered moderate Republicans in a swing state, and both have sought to distance themselves from Trump.
Kirk said in June that he could no longer support Trump after Trump said a U.S.-born judge of Mexican parents could not be fair in a court case involving Trump University because Trump wants to build the border wall. Dold announced last year that he would not endorse Trump, citing the bombastic billionaire's negative comments about Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's record as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. Trump said, "I like people who weren't captured."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...tion/88391746/