Democrats see high election stakes on issue of immigration reform

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Prominent Hispanic Democrats are wooing Latino voters by arguing Mitt Romney would deport millions of illegal immigrants if elected while President Obama would pursue reform measures.

Hispanics make up one of the most important voting blocs this election cycle. Although Obama won their vote in 2008, Romney’s campaign is making a serious push for them this year.

{mosads}“[Romney] says he’s for the self-deportation of 11 million people who have 5 million citizen children, and another million children who know no other country than this one,” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told The Hill after a panel on U.S.-Mexico Relations. “They’ve lived here their whole lives. You know 70 percent of Americans support the DREAM Act? And [Republicans] continue with a platform that’s just so out of kilter with the vast majority of people. So I think it’s pretty clear, if you take at face value what [Romney] said, it’s pretty clear what they’re going to do.”

Romney has said he opposes the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States, a measure which 90 percent of Latino voters say they support. He has also expressed past support for Arizona’s controversial anti-illegal immigration law, which was tossed out by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

“I think if he wins, there has to be some softening on his rhetoric,” said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas) of the GOP nominee. “He cannot have [co-author of the Arizona immigration law] Kris Kobach as an adviser in the administration on immigration. If that’s what you want, because it’s so extreme, the total lack of cooperation will only makes the problem worse.”

Romney has softened his rhetoric since tacking to the right during the primaries, when in a debate he said he was for “self-deportation” on the part of illegal immigrants. He later said he would accept some parts of the DREAM Act, such as a military exemption.

But Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) still expects Romney would take extreme positions on illegal immigration if he’s elected.

“I think that the right wing of his party will hold his feet to the fire and I think we go backwards,” he said. “You know there’s a wonderful movie called ‘A Day Without Mexicans,’ but that could really be true under Romney.”

The DREAM Act was close to passing in 2010 when Democrats controlled all three branches of government, but they failed to gather enough votes to keep Republicans from filibustering the legislation.

Gonzalez said while he regrets the outcome, the push for reform may have led to the Obama administration’s announcement that it would stop deporting illegal immigrants who come to the country at a young age. The change in policy could allow as many as 800,000 immigrants who came to the United States illegally to remain in the country without fear of being deported.

The politically charged decision comes as Obama faces a tough reelection fight against Romney, and Hispanic voters in swing states will play a crucial role in the contest. Obama already enjoyed a massive lead over Romney among Hispanics, but Democrats are hopeful their policies will turn this key voting demographic out to the polls in November and send a clear signal to Republicans.

“I think once [Republicans] lose an election they’re going to realize that they can’t go as far right as they have since 1992,” Villaraigosa said. “Virtually every four year cycle they’ve gone farther and farther to the right. They can’t have a platform that calls for the self-deportation of 11 million people or that calls the DREAM Act a handout.”

Gonzalez said that whoever is in power, he’s hopeful the political climate will be more conducive to compromise.

“I think that’s going to be the realization after this election,” he said. “I think that people won’t be squeezing all that political capital out of such a divisive issue and start looking at things that are going to be more concrete. Republicans obviously aren’t looking at that at the moment because they think they can survive this election without it, but I think they’re going to learn a lesson, and even in two years, in what we call the Congressional cycle, it will be a different debate.”

But he’s still worried about what a Republican victory would mean for his party’s immigration policies.

“Only if this election proves them wrong and they don’t realize the advantage that they thought they were going to be able to realize,” he said. “If they’re met with success … then it’s a hopeless era that we’ll be entering when it comes to our relationship with Mexico.”