To appreciate how high a priority is placed on Latino issues by Republican presidential candidates, just look at how many of them attended a recent national Latino leadership convention in Las Vegas.
The convention would have been the natural forum for them to discuss immigration reform, an important — and increasingly less controversial — issue among voters, based on public opinion polls. And it would have been an opportunity to engage with leaders of a voting demographic that could sway the 2016 presidential election.
So how many of the 16 invited GOP candidates showed? You can count them on one finger: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Most of the others cited scheduling conflicts, saying they instead would attend a rally in Washington sponsored by the ultraconservative Faith and Freedom Coalition, an organization endorsed by Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Michele Bachmann. Seems most Republican presidential candidates don’t like leaving their comfort zones.
Organizers of the 32nd annual convention of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials would be right to feel snubbed. Its executive director, Arturo Vargas, said, “Scheduling is a reflection of priorities. If something’s important to you, you move your schedule around to accommodate it.”
UNLV political scientist David Damore put it this way: “Their absence spoke loudly and was another salient example of the gulf between the GOP’s rhetoric and actions when it comes to reaching out to the Latino community.”
Republicans would be fools not to understand the importance of the Latino vote. But the GOP candidates know their bread is buttered by social conservatives who claim to embrace social justice, even while failing to act on it.
So while Republicans court the conservative extremes within their ranks, the issue of immigration reform will be marginalized. Only after a Republican presidential candidate surfaces and out of necessity tries to bring the party back to the middle to win votes will immigration become part of the GOP conversation. As in the old TV quiz show “What’s My Line,” you might wonder: Will the real Republican please stand up?
Democrats, though, are fully and consistently transparent on the issue.
In Hillary Clinton, who attended the Latino leadership convention, we have a presidential candidate who has advocated for migrant workers for more than 40 years, and who in her Senate career campaigned for immigration reform. She hasn’t stopped, telling her Las Vegas audience this month, “If Congress continues to refuse to act, I will do everything under the law to go further than what President (Barack) Obama has attempted to achieve.”
There is little doubt a majority of Americans are sympathetic toward those who wish to become legal U.S. residents, or even citizens. Consider:
n A CBS News/New York Times Poll conducted April 30 to May 3 found that 57 percent of respondents wanted immigrants who entered the country illegally to be allowed to stay and eventually apply for citizenship.
n In a poll conducted in February by the Public Religion Research Institute, 58 percent of respondents believed that immigrants strengthen our country because of their hard work and talents, while just 31 percent felt that immigrants are a burden because they take jobs, housing and health care. In that poll, 78 percent said immigrants living in the United States illegally should be allowed to become citizens or permanent legal residents, as opposed to 18 percent who wanted them deported.
It is more clear than ever that Americans have compassion for those who yearn to live in our country, work hard, pay taxes and educate their children. Study after study has shown immigrants help build, not weaken, our economy.
GOP candidates may, in the deep recesses of their souls, want to reach out to immigrants who want to move here to better their lives and strengthen our country. But we don’t know for sure because they are afraid to say so.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has the courage and honesty to speak her values — values we share.
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