Romney vows to tackle immigration in 'civil but resolute' manner

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/21/romney-side-steps-immigration-issue

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Mitt Romney ducked the awkward issue of whether he will repeal Obama's move to stop the deportation of 800,000 undocumented young people when addressed one of the biggest Latino conferences in the country in Florida on Thursday.

It was an awkward campaign stop for Romney, speaking to a Latino audience less than a week after Obama's move. Polls show Latino support for Obama running at two-to-one in his favour and huge support for his move to stop deportations.

Romney, who was listened to largely in silence, said: "Some people have asked if I will let stand the president's executive action. The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure.

"As president, I won't settle for a stop-gap measure. I will work with Republicans and Democrats to find a long-term solution. I will prioritise measures that strengthen legal immigration and make it easier. And I will address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil but resolute manner. We may not always agree, but when I make a promise to you, I will keep it."

He offered no new details of how he would tackle illegal immigration.

The Romney campaign team had been tentatively backing a shift by Florida senator Marco Rubio that would have introduced a modest package of reforms to help young people whose parents are illegal immigrants but who have been brought up in the country. Obama's move to grant work visas to 800,000 young undocumented youths undercut Rubio's effort, which has since been abandoned.

The Latino vote could prove pivotal in what polls suggest will be a tight election in November. But Romney is already at a disadvantage having alienated many Latinos byanti-illegal immigrant sentiments expressed during the Republican primaries that included a call for self-deportation.

In his speech, Romney tacitly acknowledged he had a hard sell. "While we may not agree on everything," he said.

Unable to offer anything new on immigration reform, Romney opted instead to make an appeal on economic grounds, saying that Latinos had suffered disproportionately from unemployment and the drop into poverty.

He also said that Obama, who is to address the conference Friday, had had an opportunity early in his presidency when the Democrats had control of both the Senate and the House to tackle immigration reform but had failed to do so.

"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," Romney said.

"Last week, the president finally offered a temporary measure that he seems to think will be just enough to get him through the election. 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."

In a passage on immigration reform, he reiterated that there is a need to secure America's borders and to reform the bureaucracy attached to acquiring green cards and visas.

In one of the few passages to win applause, he said he would reallocate green cards to keep families under one roof. Immigrants who achieve advanced degrees should be automatically receive green cards.

Although Romney called for a bipartisan approach to immigration reform, recent attempts have failed. Republicans overwhelmingly opposed a Democratic-backed Dream Act that would have offered a route to work and eventually citizenship for undocumented youths. Republicans in 2007 also blocked a joint move by Republican senator John McCain and one of the Democratic leaders in the Senate, the late Ted Kennedy, for comprehensive immigration reform. Romney was among those opposed.

As well as Romney and Obama, the conference is scheduled to be addressed by Rubio, former Florida governor Jeb Bush and present governor Rick Scott.

There was embarrassment for Romney on Thursday morning when Bloomberg reported that the Romney campaign asked Scott to tone down his comment about improving job figures. According to Bloomberg, the Romney campaign asked Scott to say that the job rate would get better in Romney presidency.

Republican governors are torn between trumpeting improvements in job rates in their states and support for Romney's position of scepticism that the job situation is improving.

Bloomberg said a Romney adviser made the request to Scott's staff this week after a drop in May to 8.6% from 8.7% the previous month.

A spokesman for Scott denied the Bloomberg story.