From Bauer’s Campaign for Working Families
One thing Donald Trump has successfully done so far in his presidential campaign is elevate the issue of immigration. There are good conservatives on both sides of the issue.
You can make the compassion argument both ways. Some argue we should show compassion for the poor illegal immigrant trying to make a better life for his family. I have often asked where is the compassion for the struggling middle class taxpayer who is supporting newly arrived illegal immigrants.
But let’s put all that aside and look at this from a purely political analysis.
Those in the Republican Party who are urging conservatives to abandon our tough stand against illegal immigration argue that we are killing ourselves politically and guaranteeing that Hispanic Americans will vote Democrat.
I want to raise a point that no one making this argument has been able to effectively address. Significant research and polling data show that second only to black Americans, Hispanics support big government. The most recent example is the debate over Obamacare.
The general public opposed it. Black Americans supported it by huge margins as did Hispanics. That support continues even to this day.
So under what scenario does folding on immigration issues, which inevitably mean more immigrants legal and illegal, help the conservative cause? Obviously, it is naive to think that the only thing in the GOP agenda Hispanics object to is our views on immigration.
Class warfare and socialism are common throughout Mexico and Latin America. Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela aren’t exactly models of economic success. Yet an April poll found that by a 20-point margin, Hispanics in America believe that the government should provide health care to all citizens.
If you want to talk about compassion, how is it compassionate to let a problem grow and fester that is going to result in more Democrat voters who will impose on America the same failed economic policies that have held back Latin America over the years?
No doubt GOP elites wish Donald Trump would stop talking about immigration. But current immigration policies are literally importing left-wing ideology and fundamentally transforming America. If the GOP doesn’t get serious about controlling our borders and thinking this issue through, the Republican Party will get trumped by immigration. Demography is destiny.
