DRM Capitol Group:
By failing to respond whether or not he would rescind the President’s decision not to deport undocumented youth, Mitt Romney is showing he truly does not support undocumented youth and the Latino community. Instead of welcoming the announcement and pressuring Congress to act on legislation to permanently bring relief, Mitt Romney is implicitly siding with anti-immigrant Republicans like Rep. Steve King and Rep. Lamar Smith to rescind the President’s decision to not deport DREAMers. Even if he fails to answer, his record on immigration is clear: he embraces self-deportation, SB1070, and would veto the DREAM Act.
Undocumented youth will escalate our actions against Mitt Romney until he supports the President’s new immigration policy. For all those who have been waiting, in some cases decades, for the DREAM Act, the President’s order is a long-overdue breath of fresh air, and a signal that undocumented youth can truly move on with their lives and contribute to this country they call home.
The President’s new immigration policy represents the most hope undocumented youth have had since Reagan’s amnesty in the 80’s. Republicans are criticizing this order, and it isn’t surprising. They were, after all, the party that filibustered the DREAM Act. They say that the President should have instead waited for a legislative solution from the most gridlocked legislature we’ve ever had, and that his actions are harming a long-term solution. They say this as though they were just on the cusp of producing better results for the Latino community, but the truth is that they most likely never would have offered even as much as the President’s executive order.
DRM Capitol Group serves as a voice for undocumented youth and lobbying arm of the dream movement. Our work ensures that undocumented youth are represented in the halls of power and are correctly and directly informed of the actions of Congress, Executive Agencies, and the Courts.
Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“On Friday President Obama showed what leadership looks like. He took bold executive action, protected hundreds of thousands of talented young people who are Americans in all but paperwork and risked political capital in doing so. He did the right thing.
“Today, the leader of the Republican Party, Mitt Romney, showed what political cowardice looks like. He refused to address the simple question of what he would do as President when the two year reprieve for Dreamers is up for renewal. He refused to say whether he would protect them or try to deport them. He refused to take on his nativist base or to spend political capital to reach out to Latino voters. He did the political thing.
“Going forward, the choice has been clarified. Voters who care about immigration can support a leader who stepped up and did the right thing. Or they can support a candidate who has vowed to veto the traditionally bipartisan DREAM Act, supports “self-deportation” for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., calls Arizona anti-immigrant laws a ‘model’ for the nation – and refuses to answer the simple question of what he would do as President when the new policy comes up for renewal.”
Rep. Xavier Becerra:
«… Romney has given us yet another reminder of his lack of leadership and of his adherence to the extreme fringes of the Republican party when it comes to matters of importance to the Latino community. Romney continuously refused to say whether he would repeal or uphold the Presidents new immigration order that prevents the deportation of deserving students who were brought here through no fault of their own. How can we expect Mitt Romney to do what’s right for our community and our country when he cannot even stand up to his own party? Talk is cheap indeed Mr. Romney.»
