Washington, DC – As expected, the 2012 RNC platform contains extreme hardline positions on immigration. The document is filled with references to “illegal aliens” and takes a particularly strong stand against the DREAMer deferred action program, declaring that President Obama’s immigration approach has “undermined the rule of law at every turn,” by creating “a backdoor amnesty program unrecognized in law, granting worker authorization to illegal aliens.” With the Republican party platform and its nomination of Mitt Romney now official, the influence and hardline vision of Kris Kobach on the current Party leadership is clear.
Notably, Kobach said last week of the immigration positions outlined in the platform, “These positions are consistent with the Romney campaign…As you all remember, one of the primary reasons that Governor Romney rose past Governor Perry when Mr. Perry was achieving first place in the polls was because of his opposition to in-state tuition for illegal aliens.”
Mitt Romney himself has refused to take a position on the DREAMer documentation effort and instead punted on the issue, telling the audience at a NALEO conference this June only that he would “replace and supersede” the DHS directive–but failing to describe what his replacement would be. During the primary campaign, Romney was quite clear about his opposition to the DREAM Act and other immigration reforms, but since then he’s tried to avoid the issue at all costs in the general election. Now, he’s relying on surrogates like Kobach to send messages to the nativist base, and trying to appeal to Latinos by changing the subject.
“It’s time to hear from the nominee himself — does Mitt Romney agree with the immigration parts of the Republican platform or not? Does he consider the documentation program for DREAMers to be a backdoor amnesty, or a stop-gap measure until Congress passes a more permanent solution?” asked Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice.
America’s Voice — Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform.
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