Don’t Be Fooled, There Are No Pro-Immigrant GOP Candidates

So ever since Rick Perry joined the circus that’s been the Republican presidential  candidate field, I’ve been so annoyed. All this talk about how Latinos love him and how great he’s been on immigration is not only complete devoid of any facts, but it just perpetuates this idea that, somehow, the right-wing in this country is working towards some reasonable resolution to the immigration situation in this country.

The truth is, and what’s so annoying to me, is that the right wing “solution” to immigration has moved so far right that it’s beyond being any sort of realistic “solution.”

Even the woman charged with protection our nation from terrorism — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano — noted in an op-ed today that the border is safer than it’s been in a long time (even safer than some metro areas in the interior of the country). If we don’t trust the people who live on the border, and we don’t trust the people charged with protecting it, and we don’t trust our president who’s deported more people than any other in history, you have to ask yourself an inconvenient question: What’s really going on with all this right-wing rhetoric?

I would dare say that the answer is that Republican politicians aren’t really interested in “solving” the immigration issue, but rather, they’re much more interested in using it as a wedge issue to become elected. Unfortunately for Latinos, who are affected by this negative rhetoric whether they be immigrants or not, this means that the endless talk about “illegal” this and “security” that and building fences, and deporting mothers and as the old joke goes, building a moat with alligators along the border, will continue.

I would further dare to say that Rick Perry is not a friend to immigrants, he just recently called the passionately anti-immigrant Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio for a friendly chat about the subject. Perry’s never has been a friend to immigrants, and despite mainstream media reports to the contrary, never enacted immigrant “friendly” legislation. Neither has Mitt Romney, nor are his ideas what could in any way realistically be characterized as “pro-immigrant.” I certainly wouldn’t trust Michelle Bachmann to be friendly to anyone other than people like herself, oh, and she’s no fan of the DREAM Act in any form. Hermann Cain just said today that if you’re not rich and jobless it’s your fault, not looking good for immigrants there, either.  And for those people who like former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, don’t forget that anti-immigrant law he signed.

I could go on, but the point is, none of these candidates are really looking to “solve” anything. Rather, they’re using a real and salient issue in our society to attract votes from the right, and any “solutions” they propose are designed not to solve this issue, but fuel the fires of discontent and division currently alive in our country. Romney can attack Perry for being “soft” on immigration, or vise versa, but the fact of the matter is none of these people are soft, they’ve taken such a hard line on immigration that their go-to patron saint Ronald Reagan wouldn’t even recognize them.

So, getting back to my annoyance at this talk of “pro” immigrant GOP candidates, all I have to say is, don’t be fooled, there are none. And trying to transmogrify anti-immigrant ideas and rhetoric into some sort of pro-immigrant silver lining is not only pointless — but you got it — annoying.