Immigration Reform And The 2016 Race: Where Do Presidential Hopefuls Stand On Immigration?
Immigration reform has been one of President Obamas biggest political battles, and that looks to be no different for the growing pool of candidates for the 2016 presidential race. As the field fills out, most recently with Hillary Clinton and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio entering the race, questions remain over whether the next White House occupant might help or hinder prospects for comprehensive reform, or try to undo Obamas immigration executive action for undocumented immigrants.
Marco Rubio
Republican candidates still face the tricky balancing act of attracting Latino voters while appealing to party hardliners on immigration. Rubio, one of the two Latino candidates in the ring so far, is already facing scrutiny regarding his 180-degree turn on immigration in recent years. Rubio one of the original sponsors of the Gang of Eight bipartisan immigration bill in 2013 that was considered Congress best chance at the time for passing comprehensive reform. While that bill assured a range of border security requirements be met -- including completing 700 miles of border fencing and increasing the number of Border Patrol agents -- it also provided a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers (undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children), streamlined legal immigration systems and even included a program to reunite deported parents with their familiesin the U.S. under certain conditions.
But since that bill faltered in Congress, Rubio has changed tack on immigration, throwing his support behind piecemeal legislation and emphasizing border security over talk of any kind of relief for undocumented immigrants. The only path forward that has any chance of success is to bring illegal immigration under control [first], Rubio told reporters in January. After that, he said, lawmakers could then streamline the legal immigration process.
In the past, hes supported in-state tuition for Dreamers and planned a bill that would grant temporary deportation relief to those immigrants under certain conditions. But he criticized Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, announced in 2012, saying it had poisoned the well for immigration reform. Last summer he also called for winding down the program, saying it was fueling the surge of unaccompanied Central American migrants at the southwestern border.
Ted Cruz
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the other Cuban-American presidential contender in the field, has long been a vocal opponent of Obamas immigration policies and any relief for undocumented immigrants. He voted against the 2013 comprehensive reform bill, criticizing its provisions as providing amnesty for illegal immigration, and advocated defunding both DACA and Obamas more recent executive action for undocumented parents of U.S. citizens, known as DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. Citizens and Long-Term Residents).
Instead, Cruz has pushed for dramatic increases in border security, including tripling the number of Border Patrol agents, quadrupling the amount of border monitoring and surveillance equipment, and building a double-layered fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Hillary Clinton
Clinton, the presumed Democratic nominee, has remained relatively reticent on immigration issues since taking some heat during the 2008 primary for reversing her stance on drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. (She appeared to support such a policy at first, but later denied she was advocating for such a move.) In recent years, shes expressed support for Obamas executive action as well as a bipartisan comprehensive bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living illegally in the U.S. At the same time, she has faced pressure from immigration activists to advocate more for reform.
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Immigration Reform And The 2016 Race: Where Do Presidential Hopefuls Stand On Immigration?