Fmr. New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson told this blogger this past Wednesday eve that if he were a sitting Republican Member of Congress, he would vote in favor of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (popularly known as the “DREAM Act”) that the U.S. House passed earlier that day. The DREAM Act establishes formal paths for the children of illegal immigrants to achieve “legal” permanent residency status provided they enroll in higher education or serve in the U.S. military.
Johnson was quick to reinforce that his support of the DREAM Act is contingent on the fact the bill merely seeks to legalize these children of illegal immigrants. Had the act contained language that would facilitate kick starting the citizenship process for these individuals, Johnson said he would oppose it.
Johnson stressed he supports the DREAM Act “based on the notion” that these children are the “unintended victims” of their parents’ actions and a flawed U.S. immigration system. Johnson also noted he agrees that voluntary service in the U.S. military by illegal immigrants ought to be recognized, a crucial part of the impetus for this bill.
When asked if his experience as governor of a border state – and a state, that unlike its neighbors along the Mexican border, boasts of Hispanic residents with generations-long heritage of living in the U.S. – gives him a more informed perspective on the issue of immigration, Johnson portrayed his own as more nuanced than some conservative immigration critics, who tend use the issue as a “scapegoat” for many of the country’s entirely unrelated “ills.”
The House brought the DREAM Act to a floor vote in its current post-Election Day lame duck session – with the chamber still formally run by a Democratic Majority – to ensure the bill’s passage. Congress watchers widely believe the bill would fail by a wide margin if considered by the next Congress’ incoming Majority, heavy with newly elected “Tea Party” fellow travelers.
Indeed, the bill passed with only eight Republican votes; six of those GOP Members won’t be back for the 112th Congress. Even Arizona’s immigration-boosting Rep. Jeff Flake opposed it because the bill’s legalization measures were not accompanied with stepped-up border enforcement language.
Johnson has been exploring a bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination on an explicitly libertarian-themed platform. In a crowded field, this position could set Johnson apart from the pack as the only candidate not sounding hardline rhetoric on immigration, a view that is not as universal even among Republican primary voters as restrictionists insist. The business community remains generally pro-immigration, and the lone Republican presidential candidate that doesn’t indulge in immigrant-bashing might see dollars from business PACs flow his way.
Considering that Hispanics are an ever-growing segment of the U.S. electorate, an immigration-positive presidential bid could also set Johnson up as one the few Republicans able to reap the votes of conservative Hispanic voters who have been turned off by GOP and “Tea Party” anti-immigration agitation in recent elections, but remain unimpressed by Democrats’ overall liberal agenda.
