Conservative struggle on immigration on display at CPAC - Google Groups

3/14/13 8:00 PM

Google Groups Conservative struggle on immigration on display at CPAC

Cutrona, Danielle (Judiciary-Rep) Posted in group: Groundswell

Conservative struggle on immigration on display at CPAC By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News March 14, 2013, 9:43 am

Conservatives' struggles with immigration reform were on full display on Thursday at CPAC, as activists listened politely but offered no warm embrace to arguments that the American million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Several members of a late-morning panel in immigration argued that supporting immigration reform was inherently conservative, and would help stem the tide of Latinos voting increasingly

But the only major applause line of the panel came after Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, a Puerto Rican-American, decried the notion of allowing the undocumented immigrants currently in th "It would be a travesty, in my opinion, to treat those who violated our laws to get here much better than those who have patiently waited their turn to come to the United States," he said.

The topic of immigration reform has long been a dicey one for conservatives. President George W. Bush had sought an immigration reform law in 2007, but it was felled largely by conserva influence of that uprising reverberated throughout the GOP, as former supporters of immigration reform moved rightward on the issue.

But following repeated losses in national elections fueled, in part, by the growing influence of the Latino vote, and its increasing support for Democrats Republican leaders have called toward Democrats. "If we're going to stop the tide against secular socialism, we need more allies," said the Republican pollster Whit Ayres.

"Every single month for the next 20 years, 50,000 Hispanic youngsters will turn 18-years-old, and become eligible to vote," he said, hoping to illustrate the inevitable, growing influence of La reach out aggressively."

Added Jennifer Korn, of the American Action Network: "Right now what we have is de-facto amnesty, and that's just not acceptable ! You can be conservative, and be for immigration refo

But the crowd full of conservative activists offered no sense of a groundswell for immigration reform along the lines of the type of law currently being drafted in the Senate. That law, which h stricter border enforcement, but also a path to earned citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrations estimated to be currently in the U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of that bipartisan group who's helped sell the plan to conservatives, will speak later Thursday afternoon.

https://groups.google.com/forum/print/msg/groundswellgroup/fmmVQOACFRQ/AD9yw_FBIgwJ

Page 1 of 1