Romney Wants to Let Young Illegal Immigrants Stay in U.S.

Associated Press
Elspeth Reeve 794 Views Oct 2, 2012

Mitt Romney said he would not deport the young illegal immigrants allowed to stay in the U.S. after President Obama's executive order in June -- and promised he would pass immigration reform -- in an interview with the Denver Post. Only a few months ago, Romney's campaign clarified that he did not support the Dream Act -- which would let illegal immigrants who joined the military or went to college to stay in America, and which Obama's executive order does temporarily -- after Romney seemed to endorse it in an interview with Newsmax. "The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. I'm not going to take something that they've purchased," Romney told the Post. "Before those visas have expired we will have the full immigration reform plan that I've proposed."

Romney took very conservative positions on immigration in the Republican primary to defeat Rick Perry, who supported in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants in Texas. He seemed to be keeping that position this summer. But polls show Latino voters support Obama over Romney by a large margin -- 70 percent to 22 percent, according to Latino Decions -- and they're a significant portion of the electorate in Colorado, where Romney is polling just behind Obama.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ereeve at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Related Articles   More by Elspeth Reeve

Some Republicans Like Their Coalition Just as It Is, Thank You Very Much

Romney Campaign Flip-Flops on Rubio Vetting

Ryan Better Liked Than Biden Ahead of Debate

 

The IRS Scandal Was First Revealed by an IRS Official Asking to Be Asked About It

So Who Lied to ABC News About the Benghazi Emails?

Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App