Within the Republican Party there is a divide. There are those who are virulently opposed to undocumented immigrants and there are those who recognize the politically destructive nature of holding such a view. It is politicians who hold these views though, and they seem to have a hard time getting a grip on how ordinary Republican voters feel about the matter and some politicians seem to be so-called “flip-floppers” as they try to make their viewpoints liquid enough to satisfy their constituency.
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It was recently announced that Jeb Bush is releasing a book about immigration intended to influence the party’s platform on the matter in a more moderate direction. Entitled “Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution” Bush holds that immigration is important and necessary, but it must be done through legal avenues. It is generally accepted that it would be wise for the Republicans to embrace the Hispanic community, where immigration reform is a real concern, and Bush is very familiar with working with that demographic.
The ideological opposition in the party really doesn’t have very different thoughts about the matter. However, their focus is more upon strict application of laws towards undocumented immigrants. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with this belief, it is, after all, the role of the government to enforce laws, but the problem is how they go about discussing the matter. Often the rhetoric from this faction of the Republican Party is demeaning, de-humanizing and degrading.
The demeaning, degrading and de-humanizing nature of some Republicans’ arguments is what Bush opposes. These incendiary comments about one issue out of a hundred that Republicans hold is not conducive for elections and re-elections.
So what opinion is Romney to hold? His platform is starting to really solidify in the last months of the election and it is clear that he is taking a slightly more moderate view of the immigration issue by recently saying that he would excuse some undocumented immigrants If they chose to serve in the United States military and he has taken some steps to distance himself from extremists in the Republican Party.
Romney’s modified stance on immigration should come as a relief to immigrants who were concerned about the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Where it was unclear whether or not he would repeal the order before, now it seems as if he will just modify the program to be more in-line with his party’s stance.