WASHINGTON
— Immigration, a prominent issue as the presidential campaign begins
in earnest, is a complicated, emotional and broad subject. But for
political purposes there's a very real question to be answered: What to
do about the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally.
With
Republicans in Congress unable to agree on an answer, President Barack
Obama has taken executive action to limit deportations. All Republicans
running for president oppose that step. But they're squeezed between big
donors, who largely favor liberalization of immigration policy, and
many primary voters, who don't.
A look at where some of the 2016 candidates stand on the issue:
Hillary
Rodham Clinton: In a speech Tuesday, Clinton came out fully in favor of
a path to eventual citizenship for most people here illegally. The
Democratic candidate also pledged to expand Obama's executive actions if
Congress does not move on an immigration overhaul. Her position could
earn wide support among growing groups of Hispanic and Asian voters and
stands apart from the more restrictive views of the Republican
contenders.
___
Jeb
Bush: The former Florida governor has endorsed a path to permanent
legal status, short of citizenship, for people here illegally, but he
has left the door open for the possibility of eventual citizenship. Bush
opposes Obama's executive actions. He has also called for an overhaul
of the country's legal immigration process to focus more on letting in
needed workers rather than letting families reunify.
Perhaps
his most striking departure from his Republican rivals is in his tone.
Bush, who wrote a book on immigration, says those who have come to the
U.S. illegally did so as "an act of love" to make a better life for
their families. His wife is Mexican, he's bilingual and he hasn't been
shy about speaking Spanish in the campaign.
___
Marco
Rubio: The Florida senator and son of Cuban immigrants once led a push
for immigration overhaul and favored eventual citizenship under certain
conditions — putting him arguably to the left of Bush on the subject.
But he backed off and repositioned.
Rubio
co-authored a Senate bill that would have made citizenship possible for
people in the U.S. illegally, once they learned English, paid back
taxes and passed a background test. The bill passed the Senate but died
in the House. Rubio now says a piecemeal approach is required because
comprehensive legislation can't succeed. His approach is to start with
securing the border and end with letting people who are in the U.S.
illegally stay.
Immigrant rights groups say that end would never come, because people would always complain the border was not secure.
Like
Bush, Rubio argues for a legal immigration system based more on
immigrants' potential economic contributions than on letting them join
family members already in the United States. Additionally, Rubio has
said he would not immediately overturn one of Obama's actions, which
allows people brought here illegally when they were young to stay.
___
Chris
Christie: The New Jersey governor once embraced letting people who are
in the country illegally stay, then he became quiet about the subject.
Recently, he's hinted at backing some sort of legal status, saying the
question of citizenship is a distraction, there's no way to deport 11
million people and most are here to work.
___
Mike
Huckabee: The former Arkansas governor is among the many Republicans
who vow to focus on border security. Yet he argues for a path to
citizenship for young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally by
their parents, and he defends an Arkansas policy that grants such
children in-state college tuition. He says children shouldn't be
punished because their parents broke the law.
___
Rand
Paul: On one hand, the Kentucky senator has voiced frustration with
fellow Republicans who describe any policy as "amnesty" if it would
somehow let people here illegally stay. And he's said there is no way to
deport everyone. On the other hand, he has not endorsed a specific way
to allow people to stay. He voted against the one concrete proposal in
Congress to permit that: the immigration bill Rubio co-authored.
___
Scott
Walker: The Wisconsin governor once supported citizenship for people
here illegally. He now says he opposes that. He recently told a
Republican group in New Hampshire he'd be fine with legal status —
essentially adopting Bush's position. But he has also questioned whether
the current policy on legal immigration makes economic sense,
suggesting he might side with those who believe high numbers of
immigrants end up lowering workers' wages.
___
Ted
Cruz: The Texas senator has been seen as the Republican field's
firebrand on immigration. In the Senate, he was the most aggressive in
pushing to slow down government business unless Obama rescinded his
executive actions limiting deportations. He also voted against the
Senate immigration bill pushed by Rubio. But even Cruz has declined to
rule out eventually letting people in the country illegally stay. He
says the border must be secured first, and the visa system changed. Only
then, Cruz says, can the country discuss what is to be done about
people here illegally.
All
three senators in the race — Cruz, Rubio and Paul — voted against
legislation to finance the Homeland Security Department in a budget
dispute that arose as a protest against Obama's executive actions on
immigration.