Republican senators in the so-called Gang of 8 working to enact comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship argue that repairing the broken system would attract Latino voters to the GOP. As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) explained during a Sunday appearance on ABC's This Week, "We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours for a variety of reasons, and we've got to understand that." In November, President Obama "won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote while Mitt Romney won 27 percent."
But some Republicans disagree. Responding to the bipartisan framework, Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) echoed the rhetoric surrounding immigrants and Democratic voters throughout the 2012 election and suggested that Hispanics would never vote for Republicans who don't provide them with government hand outs:
"It's amnesty that America can't afford," Barletta said Monday. "We have to stop people from coming in illegally. This will be a green light for anyone who wants to come to America illegally and then be granted citizenship one day." [...]
"I hope politics is not at the root of why we're rushing to pass a bill. Anyone who believes that they're going to win over the Latino vote is grossly mistaken," Barletta said. "The majority that are here illegally are low-skilled or may not even have a high school diploma. The Republican Party is not going to compete over who can give more social programs out. They will become Democrats because of the social programs they'll depend on."
Barletta has a long history of anti-immigrant positions and was one of the most vocal opponents of President Obama's directive granting reprieve to some DREAM-eligible immigrants last year. As mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, "Barletta introduced the controversial Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which would penalize businesses that knowingly hire, and landlords who knowingly rent to, people who are in the country illegally."
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