The 2016 Republican presidential field is trying to leave room to evolve on immigration for the general election.
TIME magazine recently distributed a questionnaire to many likely and announced Republican hopefuls, asking them the following:
2. Do you support an eventual pathway to legal status short of citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S., and if so, under what conditions?
3. Do you support a separate process to give legal status or citizenship to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors?
4. Do you support any government benefits, such as in-state college tuition, for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors?
While the questions appeared clearcut, the responses certainly weren’t.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) were the only ones able to give clear answers.
Santorum gave an emphatic “No” to all the questions, while Graham basically gave a “Yes” across the board.
“Citizenship need not be mandatory, but it needs to be an option for those who are qualified,” Graham spokeswoman Brittany Bramell told Time.
Graham also stated his support for a process to give legal status or citizenship—along with government benefits like in-state tuition—to minors brought to the U.S. by their parents.
All other candidates gave answers that dodged parts of the questions.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has spoken about the importance of assimilation in the past, said that until our southern border is secure all other debates on immigration should be postponed. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had a similar response.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he opposes a path to citizenship, but did not directly answer the question about legal status for illegal immigrants.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has moved to the right on immigration from his 2012 campaign when he was eviscerated by conservatives for coming out in favor of in-state tuition for illegals. Now Perry is touting his record of being strong on border security after the wave of illegal alien children flooded across the border last summer.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he still supports a pathway to citizenship, but only after the federal government enacts tough border enforcements. Rubio still stands with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the immigration reform bill they co-sponsored.
Unlike Rubio, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has changed his language away from citizenship and toward “earned legal status.”
“Gov. Bush believes once immigrants who entered illegally as adults plead guilty and pay the applicable fines or perform community service, they should become eligible to start the process to earn legal status,” spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger told TIME.
“Such earned legal status should entail paying taxes, learning English, committing no substantial crimes, and not receiving government benefits. Gov. Bush believes this must be accompanied by measures to secure the border and reform America’s broken immigration system to make it economically driven.”
By giving these non-answer answers, Jindal, Perry, Huckabee, Cruz, Bush, and Rubio look to be positioning themselves as more conservative in the primary. They will likely move toward the left and center in the general election.
