DREAM Act Portal Forum - View Single Post - Rubio Dream Act Immigrant Plan Calls Democrats' Bluff

freshh. · 05-22-2012, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Sen. Marco Rubio has called Democrats' bluff on immigration reform. Whether Republicans will forgive him for leaping into the fray at all is another question.

The White House has lobbied pro-immigration groups to avoid the plan, promising a different tack post-election. Mitt Romney, presumptive head of the GOP ticket, has said he is looking at it.

Democrats fear if Rubio's idea gets traction, the bipartisan compromise will eliminate immigration as a fall election issue. Democrats are counting on high minority turnout to lift their chances. The last thing they want is a Rubio legislative victory before November, Republicans argue.

A recent Pew Hispanic Center poll shows President Obama winning the Latino vote, 67%-27%, vs. Romney. No one sees Rubio's plan reversing the numbers, but it could ease the lopsidedness.

It's a delicate balance for Rubio. Immigration critics view his proposal as little more than another amnesty plan. To forestall such opposition he's held off on formally introducing a bill, making it easier for Democrats to ignore him.

Yet Rubio represents the sole possibility for action on immigration in this Congress and groundwork for a deal in the next one.

"It is threading a needle," said Tamar Jacoby, president of pro-immigration ImmigrationWorks USA, backed by big business.

Rubio would offer visas to illegal immigrants' children and then let them seek citizenship.

"What I've tried to do is use the existing immigration system," Rubio told conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham this month.

That's too watered down for some pro-immigration groups. Others, frustrated by lack of progress, are giving it a close look.

"It is encouraging that there is a Republican out there talking about some sort of fix," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, who's discussed the idea with Rubio. "Some (in reform groups) have gone from cynicism to being genuinely open-minded."

- Source