GOP candidates downplay past waffling on immigration

It started well before the ISIS attack on Paris, before it became known that one of the attackers carried a Syrian passport, and before the fingerprints matched up. The immigration question, ranging from what to do with the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing to European shores to the proper response toward 12 million illegal immigrants in this country has reached a tipping point among Republicans. It is now pitting candidates against each other, including Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Donald Trump has made himself virtually synonymous with the issue and has used it effectively to batter his opponents.

“I watch Jeb Bush, he’s a joke on immigration,” Trump said. “He said, they come, it’s an act of love. … This has nothing to do with love. This is serious stuff.”

Republican rivals have also put Rubio on the defensive on immigration. Paul recently brought up history Rubio would probably rather forget: the so-called Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration bill of 2013. With his participation in that bill, Rubio shifted his stance that the border had to be secured before legalizing any illegal immigrants.

“I think we’re better off as a country figuring out who they are, running them through a background check, making them pay a fine, start making them pay taxes, and getting them incorporated into our economy,” he said two years ago on the Hugh Hewitt radio show. The Senate bill was never taken up in any way in the House, and it wound up being a political black eye for Rubio. Since then, he has struck a conciliatory tone on this issue. He got the message, he says, and immigration reform isn’t happening unless it starts with border security.

Cruz also is on the defense about his claim that he’s never supported amnesty. What he means is he has never supported a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. But for many people, the definition of amnesty is broader. Cruz introduced an amendment to the Gang of Eight bill that would have conditionally granted legal residence and green cards to millions of people in the country illegally. Now Cruz is making an argument on semantics, saying the amendment he introduced is not the same thing as amnesty.

Though Donald Trump owns the anti-immigration vote right now, there’s evidence he’s a bit of an opportunist. In a 2012 interview with News Max, he criticized the immigration policy Mitt Romney proposed during his presidential campaign as offensive and off-putting.

“He had a crazy policy of self deportation which was maniacal,” Trump said. “It sounded as bad as it was, and he lost all of the Latino vote. … He lost the Asian vote. He lost everybody who is inspired to come into this country.”

After the Gang of Eight immigration bill failed, making it clear where the base of the GOP stands on immigration, Trump made a 180-degree turn from those remarks. He’s not politically correct, but in terms of having his finger on the pulse of what might be important to some voters, he is tuned in.

Listen to “White House Wednesday” on The World and Everything in It.