Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that America should be proud of its status as a “nation of immigrants” and that the United States does not do well when people “lurk in the shadows,” as he called for “earned legal status” for illegal immigrants in the country.
“We’re a nation of immigrants — this is not the time to abandon something that makes us special and unique,” he said at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) in Houston.
“We have the ability, because of immigration, to be an emerging country again — to be full of optimism, to believe that our future is brighter than our present,” said Mr. Bush, who sprinkled lines in Spanish during the address. “But we have to fix a broken immigration system and do it in short order.”
Mr. Bush has been viewed with a wary eye by some conservatives because of his comparatively moderate views on immigration, which he has consistently defended as he lays the groundwork for a potential presidential run in 2016.
“That means controlling the border, that means making legal immigration easier than illegal immigration, that means creating a catalyst for economic growth for sure, but it also means dealing with the 11 million undocumented workers that are here in this country,” Mr. Bush said. “11 million people that should come out from the shadows and receive earned legal status where they pay a fine, where they work, where they do what they want to do, which is to come out from the shadows, work, provide for their families, not receive government assistance, and over a period of time be able to receive earned legal status.
“This country does not do well when people lurk in the shadows,” he said. “This country does spectacularly well when everybody can pursue their God-given abilities.”
While some conservatives want a more hardline approach to the issue, others in the party have tried to grapple with the electoral consequences of how the GOP handles immigration.
Former President George W. Bush, Mr. Bush’s brother, won 44 percent of the Latino vote in 2004, but exit polls showed that more than seven in 10 Latinos voted for President Obama in 2012 over GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who famously said he was in favor of “self-deportation” for illegal immigrants during a January 2012 debate.
DNC spokesman Pablo Manriquez said in response to the event that the former Florida governor would “end deportation relief that keeps families together,” an apparent reference to Mr. Bush’s recently telling radio host Michael Medved that he would undo President Obama’s executive actions that shield millions from the threat of deportation.
“On issue after issue, Jeb Bush stands firmly opposed to Latino values,” Mr. Manriquez said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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