The 2012 Republican National Convention has begun, and we wanted to put together this guide of what you can expect from the convention, its nominee, and its delegates on immigration.
To begin with, there’s Mitt Romney. Romney tacked to the extreme right on immigration during the primaries, but has hardly mentioned the topic at all since the general election started, since he’s caught between a rock and a hard place in trying to win Latino voters while not angering his base. Good thing we compiled this video of immigration promises that he’s made.
Watch the video “Mitt Romney on Immigration: The Promises He’ll Keep” here:
And here’s more on the other infamously anti-immigrant Republicans who will be there in our post, “The Most Anti-Immigrant Republicans Coming to the RNC“.
Romney advisor Kris Kobach has led the effort to make the RNC platform an extremely anti-immigrant document. As we noted, Kobach wanted everyone to know he wasn’t just pushing his own agenda. He pointed out that the anti-immigrant provisions are “consistent with the Romney campaign.” We checked it out, and Kobach is right. The platform is consistent with Gov. Romney’s three key positions on immigration:
1. Support for self-deportation,
2. Believes Arizona a model for the country
3. Opposes the DREAM Act.
Romney thinks “the answer is self-deportation.” In the GOP platform:
We will create humane procedures to encourage illegal aliens to return home voluntarily, while enforcing the law against those who overstay their visas.
And, for good measure, there’s strong support for E-Verify to help with the self-deportation process:
We insist upon enforcement at the workplace through verification systems so that jobs can be available to all legal workers. Use of the E-verify program – an internet-based system that verifies the employment authorization and identity of employees – must be made mandatory nationwide.
Romney thinks Arizona’s SB 1070 is a “model for the nation.” In the GOP platform:
State efforts to reduce illegal immigration must be encouraged, not attacked. The pending Department of Justice lawsuits against Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina, and Utah must be dismissed immediately.
Note: The platform neglects to mention that the state efforts in Arizona and Alabama, among others, have been found unconstitutional.
Romney would veto the DREAM Act. In the GOP Platform:
The current Administration’s approach to immigration has undermined the rule of law at every turn. It has lessened work-site enforcement – and even allows the illegal aliens it does uncover to walk down the street to the next employer – and challenged legitimate State efforts to keep communities safe, suing them for trying to enforce the law when the federal government refuses to do so. It has created a backdoor amnesty program unrecognized in law, granting worker authorization to illegal aliens, and shown little regard for the life-and-death situations facing the men and women of the border patrol.
(Kobach also instituted the “illegal alien” language, which is used here to refer to DREAMers.)
To really drive the point home, the platform included this:
…federal funding should be denied to universities that provide in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens, in open defiance of federal law.
The complete section on immigration is below and you can find the full GOP Immigration Platform here.
Eager to get more of our take on the Republican National Convention? Here are our press statements:
- Romney Outreach to Latino Voters Remains an Uphill Climb
- RNC Platform on Immigration Defines GOP – Will Romney Go On Record to Embrace It?
- ICYMI: More Voices Slam GOP’s Approach to Immigration Policy & Politics
- Kris Kobach Sets GOP’s Immigration Agenda, Despite Concerns of Prominent Republicans
- Does Mitt Romney Support or Disavow His Immigration Advisor, Kris Kobach, Who’s Trying to Thwart the Best and Brightest of the Latino Community?
- The Disconnect Between Republican Immigration Policy and Politics
- Kris Kobach Role at GOP Convention Punctures Myth that Romney Is Pushing for Sensible Immigration Policy
Check out what’s on our blog for even more, where America’s Voice blogger Van Le and journalist Maribel Hastings will be posting some of their updates:
- Van Le: Day 4 of the Republican National Convention: DREAMer Protests of Arpaio, Mitt Romney, and Paul Ryan
- Van Le: Day 3 of the Republican National Convention: the Bid for the Latino Vote VS. Sheriff Joe Arpaio
- VIDEO: Jan Brewer Mistakenly Endorses President Obama at Republican National Convention
- Maribel Hastings, Voz Y Voto: The GOP and Hispanics: It’s Complicated
- Van Le: Day 2 of the RNC: Bring Out the Politicians With the Hispanic Last Names…and the Harsh Anti-Immigrant Platform
- Live-Stream of Arpaio at the Republican National Convention
- Van Le: Republican National Convention: Day 1
- Texas GOP Sen. Candidate Ted Cruz: Romney Should End Deferred Action for DREAMers
- Sounds Like John Boehner Doesn’t Really Want Latinos and African-Americans to Vote
- More Voices Slam GOP’s Approach to Immigration
- Maribel Hastings, Voz Y Voto: A convention for forgetful elephants
- RNC Next Week: Key Questions for Mitt Romney on Immigration