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Senate Republicans Reject RNC Advice for Latino Outreach

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Proposed Amendment to Child Tax Credit Further Evidence that GOP Hasn’t Learned Key Lessons Regarding Scapegoating and Singling Out Latino Immigrant Families

After the 2012 election cycle, the Republican National Committee (RNC) argued in its post-election autopsy report that the GOP needed to help pass immigration reform and that, “if Hispanics think that we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our policies.  In essence, Hispanic voters tell us our Party’s position on immigration has become a litmus test, measuring whether we are meeting them with a welcome mat or a closed door.”

Unfortunately, Senate Republicans are joining their House counterparts in choosing the “closed door” option.  As part of the Senate debate over unemployment insurance, Senate Republicans are embracing an amendment from Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) that would bar certain immigrant families from accessing child tax credits that they would otherwise qualify for.  The proposed change would affect U.S. citizen children whose parents pay taxes.

And while House Republicans continue to talk a good game about impending reform, the only immigration policy that has received a full vote in the House of Representatives is an amendment from anti-immigrant ringleader Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to defund the DACA program and subject DREAMers to deportation.

According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

For a party that is supposed to be changing its stripes, this latest move from Senate Republicans is looking remarkably regressive.  Unless something changes in Congress and changes soon, the RNC can start working on its post-2016 autopsy report, by cutting and pasting whole sections from the 2012 edition.