Gingrich opens door for illegal immigrants

Follow @sethmclaughlin1

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista wave Jan. 25, 2012, to the large crowd during a campaign stop in Cocoa, Fla. (Associated Press/Florida Today)

Story Topics

• Politics
• Social Issues
• Newt Gingrich
• Barack Obama
• Republican Party

Follow Us On

Facebook

Follow @washtimes

Question of the Day

Are you concerned about the security of the nation's chemical plants?

• Yes
• No
• Undecided
• Other

Login to Vote

View results

MIAMI — Fighting to curry favor with Florida’s large pool of Hispanic voters, Newt Gingrich on Wednesday called for a guest-worker program for most illegal immigrants, but his campaign could not say whether those people would be on a path to citizenship — the key question in the immigration debate.

Under close questioning by Univision’s political host, Jorge Ramos, Mr. Gingrich said he would grant quick citizenship rights to illegal immigrants who join the military or to those who have been in the U.S. between 20 and 25 years. He said the rest of the estimated 11 million should be given access to a guest-worker program.

“With most of them? I would urge them to get a guest-worker permit,” he said, calling for a substantial rewrite of immigration laws that would cancel existing penalties and instead let illegal immigrants stay.

But his campaign said it was unclear whether at the end of that guest-worker period the immigrants would be allowed to stay and gain citizenship, essentially jumping the legal immigration line, or whether they would be required to return home.

“Undetermined,” Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told The Washington Times.

The question is at the crux of the immigration debate.

If the guest workers would be required to go home, then Mr. Gingrich’s position is similar to that of Republican primary rival Mitt Romney, who also has called for a transition period for illegal immigrants, during which they could stay and work while they get their affairs in order, but they would eventually have to go home.

If Mr. Gingrich envisions a path to citizenship for guest workers, then his plan is closer to President Obama‘s, who has called for a chance for nearly all illegal immigrants to become citizens at the end of a multistep process.

The issue is important for the Hispanic Republican electorate in Florida, which is estimated at more than 450,000 strong — making it a key voting bloc in the pivotal Florida GOP primary next week.

Just as important, the GOP presidential candidates have vowed to make a play for Hispanic votes in the general election, where analysts say Republicans must win at least 40 percent — the same amount that helped George W. Bush win re-election in 2004. In 2008, Sen. John McCain of Arizona won 31 percent of the Hispanic vote, losing the state and the election.

The four remaining major candidates for the GOP’s nomination — Rep. Ron Paul and former Sen. Rick Santorum round out the field — square off Thursday in a debate aired by CNN and the network’s Spanish-language station. It is being co-sponsored by the Hispanic Leadership Network.

Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney traded jabs throughout the day on the issue in a back-and-forth highlighted by Mr. Gingrich’s decision to pull down a campaign advertisement from his camp that called Mr. Romney “anti-immigrant,” after coming under fire by Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, and high-profile Romney surrogates from the Miami area.

Both men also appeared at a president’s forum co-sponsored by Univision, the largest Spanish-language television network in the nation, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Immigration is a major issue but not the only one for Hispanic Republicans in Florida. Many voters are Cuban and enjoy special carve-outs in immigration law, though they do have sympathy for fellow Hispanics who are more intimately touched by illegal immigration. Indeed, many Cuban-American Republican leaders support passage of the Dream Act to legalize illegal-immigrant young adults who are going to college or joining the military.

Story Continues →

© Copyright 2012 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.