Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s immigration-policy ideas have made headlines because of the stark contrast between his views and the hawkish rhetoric of other GOP presidential candidates. But Bush’s positions are not new, and have set him apart from the field in another way.
Almost every other GOP presidential candidate has recently altered his or her views on a pathway to citizenship or earned legal status for illegal immigrants, seen by many conservatives as amnesty, after endorsing some form of legalization in the past. Bush has long favored legalization, though he no longer appears willing to make a full-throated argument for a pathway to citizenship.
Other candidates appear to have promoted contrasting views of their own records on immigration. In April, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told NPR, “I’ve done more [on] immigration than Hillary Clinton ever did. I mean, I helped pass an immigration bill in a Senate dominated by Democrats.”
Six days later, when CBS’ Bob Schieffer asked Rubio if he would sign the bill he created, Rubio’s ringing endorsement had faded. “Well, that’s a hypothetical that will never happen,” Rubio answered.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has admitted to changing his views on immigration during the past few years, and his evolution on immigration is striking. In the summer of 2013, Walker endorsed a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. “You hear some people talk about border security and a wall and all of that,” Walker said. “To me, I don’t know that you need any of that if you had a better, saner way to let people into the country in the first place.”
Then Walker explained his evolution on immigration to Fox News earlier this year. “You’ve got to secure that border or none of these plans make any sense,” Walker told Fox News Sunday.
But Bush remains unapologetically in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. Speaking with Fox News earlier this week, Bush said that he would wait to undo President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which would defer the deportations of millions of illegal immigrants if the actions survive judicial scrutiny, until he secured comprehensive immigration-reform legislation to replace the executive actions.
“What are we supposed to do — marginalize these people forever?” Bush asked. “A practical solution of getting to fixing the legal system is also allowing for a path to legalized status, not necessarily citizenship.”
The comprehensive plan the governor desires, as outlined by Bush’s staff to the Washington Examiner, sounds like a grab bag of things from the governor’s wish list. Bush’s ideal overhaul of America’s immigration system would secure the border and respond to the 11 million illegal immigrants already inside the U.S. by forcing them to pay fines, pay taxes, and learn English. It would not allow illegal immigrants to receive government benefits “during the legalization process” and would disqualify those who commit “substantial” crimes. Bush has co-authored a book, Immigration Wars, that argues, in part, for a version of the DREAM Act, which would legalize illegal immigrant children.
“He wants to ensure that it’s done in an orderly way that provides certainty and won’t punish individuals for the president’s actions while making sure that we have a permanent, comprehensive solution,” a Bush staffer told the Examiner. “He’s looking for something that will be a practical, permanent solution; something that will get through the House and the Senate. … Compromise is clearly going to have to be on the table.”
But Bush’s desire to reach a compromise in Congress on immigration is not what has attracted the most scrutiny. Bush has come under fire on immigration mostly for making remarks that show his emotional connection to the issue of immigration, rather than the goal-oriented approach his staff described.
Speaking about illegal immigration with Fox News’ Shannon Bream in 2014, Bush said, “Yes, they broke the law, but it’s not a felony; it’s an act of love.” Vocal opponents of illegal immigration have pounced on Bush for making those remarks, and have said they show Bush’s lack of understanding regarding immigration.
“You see, Mr. Bush, we love our country too,” said conservative radio host Mark Levin at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference. “We are not a nation of immigrants, we are a nation of citizens. I am sick and tired of the American citizen being demeaned and treated as a second-class citizen while anybody who crosses the border is treated as the most virtuous human being on the face of the earth.”
Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told the Washington Examiner she believes Bush has let his emotions cloud his judgment. “Like his brother George W. Bush, his immigration position seems to be based on a sentimental and romanticized view of immigration and the close relationships he has had in his life with immigrants rather than on a more clear-eyed view of what is good for the country as a whole,” Vaughan said. “It’s more than just political, but I think he believes that there is a political advantage to be gained by a mass immigration stance.”
Bush’s motivation may be unknowable, but his ideas are not. The Daily Beast called Bush’s comments on whether he supports legalization instead of a pathway to citizenship “dizzying,” because Bush has made a habit of talking about options he deems worthy of consideration rather than advocating for a single option. Bush talked about his support for a pathway to citizenship in 2012 with Charlie Rose, but he tempered his view on providing full citizenship to illegal immigrants while he promoted his book Immigration Wars.
Earlier this week, when he told Fox News that he supported legalization, and “not necessarily citizenship,” Bush appeared to leave the door open to both options. Many conservative voters, who helped put Republicans in charge of the Senate via the 2014 elections, believe both options are misguided and consider support for any form of amnesty a deal-breaker.
For conservative voters that count immigration as a decisive issue, only Bush and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz appear to have remained largely consistent on the issue among the major GOP presidential contenders. Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, adamantly opposes illegal immigration and a pathway to citizenship for people who entered the country illegally.
When asked by Fox News’ Megyn Kelly about Bush’s statements on immigration earlier this week, however, Cruz responded that he is “a fan” of the Florida governor. “I’ll give him credit for candor and consistency,” Cruz said. “He’s running on his views, and his views are different from an awful lot of Republican primary voters, but he’s honest about it.”
If Bush can make Cruz a “fan,” perhaps convincing Republican primary voters will not be quite so hard.
