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From 2002 to 2013, Scott Walker was on the record as a supporter of immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. As Milwaukee county executive, Walker signed two resolutions backing an immigration overhaul and urging Congress to secure legal residency and full labor rights for the undocumented. In the aftermath of the GOPs 2012 drubbing among Hispanic voters, the Wisconsin governor joined the chorus of conservatives calling for the party to abandon its hard line on immigration, telling Politico that we should have a system that works and lets people in. But you may have heard that Walker has been running for president lately, and as he seeks to appeal to conservative primary voters, Walker has discarded his support for reform, telling Fox News Chris Wallace this month that he opposes amnesty.

My view has changed. Im flat-out saying it, Walker said. Candidates can say that. Sometimes they dont.

Well, it appears that Walkers view has changed again, although hes not flat-out saying it, at least not in public. The Wall Street Journal reportsthis afternoonthat at a private dinner with business-minded Republicans in New Hampshire earlier this month, Walker told attendees that he favors a path to citizenship a stance that starkly contradicts his recent no amnesty tack:

But during the March 13 New Hampshire dinner, organized by New Hampshire Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Horn at the Copper Door Restaurant in Bedford, Mr. Walker said undocumented immigrants shouldnt be deported, and he mocked 2012 GOP nomineeMitt Romneys suggestion that they would self-deport, according to people who were there.

Instead, they said, Mr. Walker said undocumented immigrants should be allowed to eventually get their citizenship without being given preferential treatment ahead of people already in line to obtain citizenship.

He said no to citizenship now, but later they could get it, said Bill Greiner, an owner of the Copper Door restaurant. Ken Merrifield, mayor of Franklin, N.H., who also attended, said Mr. Walker proposed that illegal immigrants should get to the back of the line for citizenship but not be deported.

Get[ting] to the back of the line for citizenship is a crisp, concise summary of precisely what the 2013 immigration overhaul which passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote but floundered in the House would have required of unauthorized immigrants. Thats also what President Obama has called for. Walker, in other words, just endorsed the immigration framework favored by virtually all Democrats and a bloc of squishy moderate/liberal/Alinskyite/communist Republicans.

Three separate sources at the dinner confirmed Walkers remarks to the Journal, and Walker spokeswomanKirsten Kukowski isnt even bothering to deny that Walker uttered them.* Instead, she reiterated to the paper that Walker is opposed to amnesty, whatever that means to him, and believes that Obama exceeded his authority with his executive actions on immigration. Well, Jeb Bush says that too.

The great irony in Walkers latest immigration U-turn is that it was likely intended to ease establishment-type Republicans doubts about his less-than-stellar candidacy, which has been tainted by unforced errors and unschooled answers on foreign policy,tensions with religious conservatives, and an inflammatory comparison of union protesters with ISIS. Speaking beforea dinner featuring GOP businessmen and party apparatchiks a group of people who generally dont see a seal-the-borders-and-send-them-all-back approach as either economically sound or politically astute in a general election Walker had a chance to assuage establishment doubts about his viability. If you want to woo these kinds of people into your camp, you say sensible things about how you support a path to legal status and think that Mitt Romney sure did blow it with all that self-deportation chatter. So thats what Walker did. But his audience could hardly have been reassured, given the transparent pandering involved it had been mere days since he owned up to hisfirst flip-flop on Fox News, after all. Its little wonder that the well-heeled Republicans who arent Ready for Jeb are increasingly turning their attention to Marco Rubio.

*Update, 4:00 p.m. EDT: While Kukowski initially did not directly address the attendees account, she is now dutifully denying it, following the publication of the Journals story. We strongly dispute this account, Kukowski said in a statement to reporters. Governor Walker has been very clear that he does not support amnesty and believes that border security must be established and the rule of law must be followed. His position has not changed, he does not support citizenship for illegal immigrants, and this story is false.

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Scott Walker waffles on immigration again: Why his latest about-face could do him in (UPDATED)

House Debates Immigration Reform Bill
House Debates Immigration Reform Bill The House Rules Committee approved a resolution allowing members to vote on two border bills late Friday night. The Republican lead committee approved...

By: Sebastian Voronof

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House Debates Immigration Reform Bill - Video

The Arizona sun may not be the only heat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will face on Wednesday as he addresses the Arizona Chamber of Commerce in Phoenix as a possible Republican candidate for president. Earlier this month, Walker acknowledged a change in his thinking on an issue more pressing to Arizonans than residents of his home state: immigration.

In 2013, a Wisconsin newspaper asked Walker if he could envision a scenario where the countrys 11 million illegal immigrants received citizenship after waiting a certain amount of time and paying a penalty. Sure, yeah. I think it makes sense, Walker told the Wausau Daily Herald. When he was the Milwaukee County executive in 2005, Walker supported the immigration reform bill sponsored by U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. The controversial bill would have allowed illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship if they met certain provisions after six years.

In an interview with Fox News Chris Wallace earlier this month, the Wisconsin governor said that is no longer his view. I dont believe in amnesty and part of the reason why Ive made that a firm position is I look at the way this president has mishandled that issue, he said, referring to President Barack Obamas executive actions on immigration that are estimated to protect some 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation over the next three years. Walker added that he was one of the governors who signed on to a Texas lawsuit that prevented the executive actions from taking place last month. The case has yet to be decided on its merits.

I think the better approach is to enforce the laws and give employers -- job creators -- the tools like E-Verify and other things to make sure the law is being upheld going forward, Walker said. E-Verify is a system used by 500,000 employers to check whether employee information matches against government records to determine if theyre eligible to work.

When asked about the inconsistencies between his previous views and his new statements, Walker said, My view has changed. Im flat-out saying it. Candidates can say that. Sometimes they dont.

Its unclear whether Walker will bring up immigration in Phoenix, although its more likely that hell talk about the economy and his successful scaling back of union protections in Wisconsin -- a popular issue among the conservatives hell try to court if he runs for president. But by appearing in Arizona, Walker runs the risk of facing hecklers or protesters in the Grand Canyon State, which has been at the forefront of the immigration debate.

Arizona passed the strictest anti-illegal immigration laws in the country in 2010. The U.S. Supreme Court later struck down most of the law's provisions, but a controversial aspect of SB1070 remains -- the right for authorities to ask for immigration papers from anyone who might be in the country illegally. The measure is seen by critics as an affront to civil liberties that disproportionately affects minorities.

Walker is the first possible 2016 GOP contender to speak before the Arizona chambers Leadership Series, which plans on hosting other potential Republican candidates for president. Walker was scheduled to speak before the chamber and nonchamber members at noon local time for the minimum $105-per-head luncheon.

Should Walker run into a contentious situation, he would not be the only prospective Republican candidate to face backlash over their immigration stance. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.,faced an angry crowdin Florida while on his book tour for his memoir An American Son, last month. Rubio was part of the so-called Gang of Eight that helped craft a Senate-approved immigration reform bill in 2013. The bill was killed by Republicans over concerns it was too lenient toward illegal immigrants. Rubio latertried to walk back from his positionat the Conservative Political Action Conference last month, saying the plan wouldnt have worked without tighter border security and that the issue should be solved in pieces instead of a comprehensive package.

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Scott Walker Illegal Immigration Flip-Flop Might Face Scrutiny During Arizona Visit

TRENTON Gov. Chris Christie is supporting Texas and other states suing the federal government over President Obama's amnesty program for unauthorized immigrants.

Christie this week joined governors in three states - Texas, Louisiana and South Dakota - in a court brief opposing the federal government's request to implement executive orders, according to court documents. The lawsuit stems from court proceedings initiated by 26 states after Obama announced wide-reaching executive actions on immigration in November.

New Jersey and the governor did not join the lawsuit. Rather, the governor opted to weigh in with the court arguing Obama's policies should not take effect.

Christie has been critical of Obama's immigration policies, but had yet to publicly take a position on the lawsuit that Texas officials are spearheading.

The news of Christie joining the lawsuit took some within New Jersey good-government groups by surprise, including Ari Rosmarin, public policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

"When the lawsuit was first filed the state took no action," Rosmarin said.

"Now, to see Christie enter himself as governor on to this brief with the likes of governors of Texas, Louisiana and North Dakota is really shocking and shameful," he said. "These are not New Jersey values."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's administration filed an amici curiae brief, or a friend of the court brief, earlier this week with the U.S. Court of Appeals. The filing -- which Christie and the governors of Louisiana and South Dakota also signed onto -- opposes the U.S. Department of Justice's request to implement programs that would give some unauthorized immigrants the ability to work and obtain a driver's license.

A Christie spokesman confirmed the governor signed on, but declined to provide comment.

The filing argues the governors' states would be victim to "irreparable injuries" if the federal governments motion to implement the programs - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents - is approved.

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Christie supporting lawsuit challenging Obama immigration reform

By Luis V. Gutierrez March 23, 2015, 2:46 p.m.

In Illinois, business leaders from the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition and Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago pulled together moderate Republicans to pledge to work toward immigration reform in Washington that supports families and the economy. Gov. Bruce Rauner, Sen. Mark S. Kirk, and Reps. Robert J. Dold, Adam Kinzinger and Aaron Schock, all Illinois Republicans, are welcome additions to the team fighting for immigration reform, border security and legal immigration. But it will take more than a news conference and nice words about the issue to break us out of gridlock.

I hope I can count on my Illinois colleagues to push back on their own colleagues when Republican leaders and candidates say immigrants are killing Americans every day or coming to America for the free food or whatever other talking point Republicans use in Congress and on television. We need allies who will stand up to the bullies who paint all immigrants as free-loaders, criminals and a drain on America.

The reality is clear. Almost all of the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants in the U.S. will live here for the rest of their lives, regardless of whether we change our policies. Most have lived here for a decade already, and most live in families with children who are mostly U.S. citizens. Uprooting this population isnt going to happen no matter how many deportation bills the House GOP majority passes or how strenuously Republicans demonize immigrants, block legal immigration and delay reforming the system.

Even the worst ideas of House Republicans such as a bill to deport DREAMers who have already passed a criminal background check that is being marked-up in the Judiciary Committee are unlikely to become law because legislatively, we are at a stalemate. Republicans have enough votes to pass some partisan anti-immigrant and anti-immigration bills in committee and maybe the House, but probably not enough votes to pass them in the Senate. And even if a bill does pass, neither the House nor the Senate could override a presidential veto, so these measures will never become law.

In response to gridlock, President Barack Obama took action last November to address aspects of how immigration laws are administered, where resources are deployed and how deportation priorities can be aligned with national priorities. But the Republican response to the presidents actions was both predictable and cynical. The Republican reaction to action is always to insist on inaction.

Republicans attempted to defund the Department of Homeland Security, but the strategy failed under the weight of its own self-defeating, futile silliness. It took an eleventh-hour vote to keep the DHS open and legislation to fund the agency eventually passed on the strength of Democratic votes.

A lawsuit demanding a halt to Obamas executive actions was filed by Republican governors and attorneys general as a second front in the GOPs fight for inaction. The result is a temporary injunction. While I and other Democrats help families get themselves ready to apply for protection from deportation when the time comes, the stays and appeals are already working their way through the courts.

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Democrats Will Protect Families Until Immigration Reform ...