Romney hits Obama over immigration inaction
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, reaching out to a critical voting bloc in a pivotal Electoral College state, today told a group of Hispanics in Florida that President Obama hasn’t even attempted to resolve the nation’s immigration issues.
“Three years ago, Candidate Obama promised to address the problems of illegal immigration in America. He failed. The truth is, he didn’t even try,’’ Romney said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Republican National Hispanic Assembly in Tampa, Fla.
While lauding legal immigration, the former Massachusetts governor said he favored securing the nation’s border by completing construction of a high-tech fence and guarding it with sufficient manpower.
He also pledged to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants through a secure employment verification system. Romney himself fell prey to the problem during his 2008 White House campaign, when he learned that his landscaper was employing illegal immigrants.
In addition, Romney urged a ban on incentives that promote illegal immigration. He noted that, while governor, he vetoed legislation that would have provided in-state tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants .
“As president, I promise to lead on this critical issue,’’ he said.
Many legal immigrants, especially in Florida’s politically active Cuban community, oppose illegal immigration.
Romney reached out to their sense of propriety, saying, “The people who came to America did not come for a handout. They came here for opportunity. The president and his party are about handouts and the redistribution of wealth.’’
The Democratic National Committee took the opposite tack, highlighting Romney’s threat to cut federal funding to communities that bill themselves as safe sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. The president’s party also cast a spotlight on Romney’s efforts to block in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants, believing it casts him as unsympathetic.
In his remarks, Romney struck several other chords aimed at resonating within the Hispanic community.
Of Florida’s nearly 19 million residents, 22.5 percent were identified as being of Hispanic or Latino origin in the 2010 US Census. Nationally, the rate is 16.3 percent.
The state will have 29 electoral votes next year, tied with New York for third in the country behind California and Texas, two other states with sizable Hispanic and Latino populations.
Romney lauded US Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who was born into a family of Cuban exiles. Romney has already said Rubio would likely be on the vice presidential short list for any GOP presidential nominee next year.
“The promise of America has brought some of the world’s best and brightest to our shores. It’s what brought Mel Martinez, the first Cuban-American US senator, here. And it brought to America the parents of Marco Rubio, who is one of America’s great leaders today.’’
On the day a fresh report showed the nation’s unemployment rate stuck at 9.1 percent, Romney tailored his remarks to his audience.
“Hispanics have been hit terribly hard, with an unemployment rate that is higher than the national one,’’ he said. “Home values have dropped more than they did during the Depression and Florida has seen some of the worst of it. National debt is almost as large as our entire economy, and we owe a huge chunk of it to China.’’
Romney also sought to stoke the potent anti-Castro community in South Florida, accusing Obama of seeking to appease some of the world’s authoritarian leaders.
“So critical was President Obama of America before the United Nations that Fidel Castro complimented him for his ‘courage’ and ‘brave gesture,’’’ said Romney. “And Venezuelan dictator and thug Hugo Chavez joined in on the praise. We can’t lead the world by hoping our enemies – like the rogue regimes in Havana and Caracas – will hate us less.’’
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