Romney to propose immigration reform measures in Florida

Lake Buena Vista, Florida (CNN) – Mitt Romney will face a skeptical audience that is opposed to nearly all of his positions on illegal immigration when he addresses a conference of Latino leaders in Orlando on Thursday.

The unofficial GOP nominee will lay out his positions at the gathering of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and will advocate for specific immigration reform measures, according to excerpts of his speech released by the Romney campaign.


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"I will reallocate green cards to those seeking to keep their families under one roof," Romney will say. "We will exempt from caps the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents. And we will eliminate other forms of bureaucratic red tape that keep families from being together."

Romney will also advocate allowing immigrants earning advanced degrees in the United States to receive green cards.

"If you get an advanced degree here, we want you to stay here – so we will staple a green card to your diploma," Romney will say. "We want the best and brightest to enrich the nation through the jobs and technologies they will help create."

Immigrants who serve in the U.S. military should be offered a path to citizenship, Romney will say.

"I will stand for a path to legal status for anyone who is willing to stand up and defend this great nation through military service," Romney will say. "Those who have risked their lives in defense of America have earned the right to make their life in America."

Romney's speech, which takes place one day before President Barack Obama speaks to the same group, will take aim at the incumbent Democrat for failing to enact effective immigration policies.

"Despite his promises, President Obama has failed to address immigration reform," Romney will say. "For two years, this President had huge majorities in the House and Senate – he was free to pursue any policy he pleased. But he did nothing to advance a permanent fix for our broken immigration system. Instead, he failed to act until facing a tough re-election and trying to secure your vote."

In a policy session at the conference just hours before Romney's scheduled speech, a labor organizer with the Service Employees International Union blasted Arizona's immigration law and other "copycat" laws across the country as legalizing "racial profiling." Romney has said he supports the Arizona law but does not see it as a model for the country.

Eliseo Medina, the Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU, warned more Latino leaders will settle their differences over immigration policies at the voting booth in the fall.

"There will be many more of us in 2014, 2016, 2020 and on into the future," Medina said.

Romney has come under growing pressure on the immigration issues ever since President Obama announced a White House policy change that halts the deportations of some undocumented youth.

"Romney has refused, in at least six different interviews, to say where he stands on the issue," Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement.

In his speech Thursday, Romney will again say that as president, he would implement an immigration plan that would replace Obama's rule.

"Some people have asked if I will let stand the President's executive action," Romney will say. "The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the President's temporary measure."

Romney will characterize Obama's immigration directive as too little, too late.

"Last week, the President finally offered a temporary measure that he seems to think will be just enough to get him through the election," Romney will say. "After three and a half years of putting every issue from loan guarantees for his donors to Cash For Clunkers before immigration, now the President has been seized by an overwhelming need to do what he could have done on Day One. I think you deserve better."

The GOP contender has blamed the president for the lack of progress on immigration reform.

"He said, for instance, to the question of illegal immigration, that he was going to deal with immigration his first year he was going to focus on that," Romney said at an event in Davenport, Iowa on Monday. "Did he do anything on immigration when he had a Democratic House and Senate? No. This is a president who has said one thing and done another."

Romney took a hard line stance on immigration throughout the Republican primary season. He promised to veto the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants.

"The question is if I were elected and Congress were to pass the DREAM Act, would I veto it and the answer is yes," Romney said in Iowa last December.

In recent months, Romney has softened that view, indicating he might be open to a Republican version of the DREAM Act that was being drafted by rising GOP star, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

Earlier this week, Rubio's office said the senator had shelved the proposal in response to the president's move on deportations.

While some Republican leaders are adamantly opposed to any effort to provide a path to legal status for the undocumented, other GOP lawmakers are looking to Romney for guidance.

"I think we're going to wait until we hear what Governor Romney has to say on this issue," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said earlier this week.

"There may be others behind me who want to address it. But my view, he is the leader of our party from now until November and we hope beyond," McConnell said.



http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...es-in-florida/

Note he didn't say if it's going to be a self deportation measure or something that is going to help us lol.

Nobody changes his core ideals so quickly. And this almost sounds like a joke!
"We will staple greencards to your diplomas" WTF?
Does he think Hispanics are stupid and gullible or something?

If he doesn't offer specifics....his past comments of self deportation and Arizona's SB1070 being a model for the country will stand. I bet he's prating that the SCOTUS shoots down SB1070.

Romney ain't gonna propose shytt..move on..nothing special here folks.

Agreed. No matter what he does, one faction of voters will hate him regardless( Hispanics or Tea Partiers), so the best he can do is just shut up, admit he's lost this issue and the hispanic vote and not try to act like a crazy republican who wants to deport twelve million residents.

Remember, if he reveals his plans on anything then he won't be elected.

Indeed. Do these fucktards really think we're stupid? Why isn't Rubio introducing his bill? Even a better question..Why didn't Rubio express support and happiness with Obama's announcement? Doesn't he care for the Dreamers afterall? The answers to these questions will tell you the whole story...Democratic Party it is then! The frauds have been exposed.

Poor Mittens.

Too soft on immigration will make him lost some extreme white votes and hard on inmigration will cost him latino votes. Feel soory for Romany...loll.