MIAMI (AP) — Mitt Romney's promise to veto a measure that
would create a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants threatens to turn
off Hispanic voters, whose support could be critical in a general election
match-up against President Barack Obama.
The issue is gaining prominence as the Republican
front-runner heads toward the Jan. 31 primary in Florida, even though most of
the state's Hispanics are Puerto Rican or Cuban-American and, thus, aren't
affected by U.S. immigration law, nor view it as a priority. Still, it's a
state where 13 percent of registered voters are Hispanic, where the nation's
largest Spanish-language TV networks are based, and where the nation's
third-largest number of illegal immigrants live — intensifying the focus on
Romney's position.
"Latino voters, like all voters in this country, are
interested in America being an opportunity nation," Romney said Monday night
during a debate in South Carolina, when asked if his promise to veto the
so-called Dream Act was alienating voters. "In my view, as long as we
communicate to the people of all backgrounds in this country that it can be
better, and that America is a land of opportunity, we will get those
votes."
Maybe not.
His veto promise — first made in the days before the Iowa
caucuses — has hit a nerve with prominent Hispanics, and some Republicans worry
that the position will turn off the growing number of Latino voters in
swing-voting states, particularly in the west, who are now on the fence after
backing Obama in 2008. These Republicans suggest that Romney was trying to
curry favor with hardline Republican primary voters at the expense of Hispanics
whose support he would need come the fall.
"If Romney's the nominee, he's going to have to come to
the center and make some decisions about how to resolve that issue," said
Republican Herman Echevarria, a Cuban-American who is the CEO of a Miami-based
bilingual advertising agency and a longtime local political player. "He's
trying to be a conservative candidate. And if you don't become a conservative
candidate, you cannot be the candidate of the Republicans. But you cannot be
elected president just as a conservative candidate."
Already, there are signs of backlash.
For Colombia native Ana Rodriguez, a Miami-based graphic
designer who received political asylum and will become a U.S. citizen this
year, Romney's comments are precisely what motivated her to vote — against him.
"Because of what I went through," Rodriguez said, "I want more
people (elected) who are interested in supporting immigrants and want a more
equal and fair system of immigration."
Florida Dream Act activists, who have been among the most
visible in the nation, also are promising to keep the heat on Romney as his
campaign comes to the state.
And last week, at El Tropical restaurant in Miami, Florida
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who has endorsed Romney, told a group of mostly
Cuban-American Republican primary voters that the former Massachusetts governor
was the only candidate who could fix the economy and protect U.S. security
interests. Then, a young Colombian immigrant stepped forward and asked
Diaz-Balart, who has championed immigrants' rights including the Dream Act, how
the congressman could support Romney.
"You have been such a friend to us, I just don't
understand," said Juan Rodriguez, a student at Florida International
University who was among a half-dozen students who walked from Miami to
Washington in the winter to raise awareness of the legislation.
The exchange was caught on tape by several Spanish-language
media outlets that reach viewers around the world.
Romney has arguably the toughest immigration position of any
of the Republican candidates. Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of
Representatives, would give legal status to illegal immigrants who have deep
roots in the U.S. and lived otherwise lawfully.
Conversely, Romney has been adamantly opposed to any type of
amnesty for illegal immigrants since his first White House run in 2008.
Previously, he called reasonable a bipartisan proposal to allow immigrants to
seek green cards granting permanent residency status in exchange for certain
penalties, though he says he never officially supported such legislation.
Last year, Romney objected to the Dream Act. But he went
further in the days before the Iowa caucuses when asked if he would veto the
measure that would allow illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to
earn legal status if they went to college or joined the military.
"The answer is yes," Romney told voters then.
While he said he does not oppose creating a path for those
who serve in the U.S. military to become permanent residents, he also said he
doesn't believe such individuals should be able to adjust their status by
attending school, nor should they receive lower in-state tuition rates.
Since narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses, Romney has been
sending Hispanics mixed messages.
He's working to woo Hispanics and convince them he's sincere
in fighting for their causes, recently launching TV commercials in Florida
featuring Cuban-Americans Diaz-Balart and fellow U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
as well as his son Craig speaking in Spanish.
But, in South Carolina, he's also been campaigning with
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the leading architect behind two of the
strongest immigration crackdown laws enacted by state governments and being
challenged by the federal government. Even many Latinos who support tougher
immigration laws worry such measures will lead to racial profiling because they
give broad leeway to law enforcement to stop anyone whom they suspect of being
in the country illegally.
Jennifer Korn of the center-right group the Hispanic
Leadership Network, which is co-hosting a Republican primary debate and Latino
conference this month in Florida, said Romney took a risk in alienating
Hispanic voters. But, she added, he's also made clear he wants to fix the
broader immigration system.
"If he explains it correctly, he definitely has a
chance to have the Hispanic community listen to what he has to say," she
said.
He seemed to try to do just that during recent debates,
saying: "I love legal immigration," but that "to protect our
legal immigration system we have got to protect our borders and stop the flood
of illegal immigration."
That appeared to be enough for Peter Gonzalez, a
Cuban-American commercial attorney and fiscally conservative Democrat.
"It's nice to hear a guy who the media has said is
taking a harsh turn to the right on immigration say they love legal
immigration," he said.
Copyright 2012 The
Associated Press.