Mitt Romney wants to improve his troubled standing among Latino voters while saying as little as possible about immigration. Events keep working against him.
The Supreme Court’s ruling Monday on Arizona’s immigration law, coming 10 days after President Obama’s announcement that allows some illegal immigrants to stay in the country, is the latest instance. Romney’s cautious comments on the court decision underscored his discomfort with a topic that squeezes him between conflicting goals.
He needs to fire up his conservative base, where anti-immigration sentiments run strong. But Romney also needs to reduce Obama’s sizeable advantage among Latino voters.
Immigration is certainly not the only issue that matters to Latinos, and Romney is trying to appeal to them by focusing on the economy. That’s their No. 1 issue, as it is with other voter groups. But many Latinos resent what they see as ethnic and social overtones in some Republicans’ denunciations of people who crossed the Mexican border illegally.
In truth, immigration is a delicate issue for both candidates. Neither seemed overly eager to pounce on the high court’s ruling that struck down much of the Arizona law.
While Obama’s campaign stayed silent, the president issued a statement praising much of the decision. However, he said, "I remain concerned about the practical impact of the remaining provision of the Arizona law that requires local law-enforcement officials to check the immigration status of anyone they even suspect to be here illegally."
In a comment that might resonate with minority citizens everywhere, the president added: "No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like."
Romney, meanwhile, made two brief statements Monday that largely avoided details of the Arizona law and the court ruling.
"Given the failure of the immigration policy of this country," he told donors in Scottsdale, Ariz., "I would have preferred to see the Supreme Court give more latitude to the states."
In the GOP primaries, Romney rejected charges that he was "the most anti-immigrant candidate" in the field, as a Newt Gingrich radio ad claimed. Romney had criticized Texas Gov. Rick Perry for granting in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants. And he distanced himself from Gingrich’s call for a de facto policy of declining to deport illegal immigrants who have led long, stable, and crime-free lives in the United States.
Romney began softening his immigration rhetoric after vanquishing his Republican rivals. But Obama complicated matters on June 15. The president said he would not deport young illegal immigrants who attend school and avoid crime, a move that Latino groups widely praised.
Romney and his surrogates have repeatedly declined to say whether he would overturn that policy, even as they have criticized Obama for failing to craft "a long-term solution" to immigration.
Ana Navarro, who has advised GOP governors and was national co-chairwoman of John McCain’s Latino Advisory Council in 2008, said Monday via Twitter: "As a Republican Latina, trying to put positive spin on Romney immigration (non)statements, well, let’s just say it ain’t easy."
Romney has said laws such as Arizona’s should not lead to ethnic profiling. He has less than five months to try to eat into Obama’s lead among Latino voters. He hopes an agenda built around economic opportunity will do the trick. Meanwhile, it’s a good bet that he’d be happy if talk about immigration died down.
Charles Babington
