GOP Fearmongering about Immigrants Voting is Misguided Approach to Immigration Reform
The GOP fearmongering about losing the "White Christian vote" is gross mistated as explained by the Washington Post
MANY REPUBLICANS in Congress oppose immigration reform for fear of it creating millions of new Democratic voters and putting the White House forever beyond the GOPs electoral reach. This is President Obamas number one political agenda item because he knows we will never again have a Republican president, ever, if amnesty goes into effect, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told World Net Daily, an online publication, in June.
That conviction helps explain the partys opposition to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. But there are at least two reasons to doubt the Republican assumption. One is that any plan with a chance of enactment will contain a very long timeline for naturalizing the nations 11?million illegal immigrants. Under the Senate bill passed in June, immigrants would have to wait 13 years to become citizens; under some House proposals, the wait would be even longer. It is folly to predict how the nation, let alone particular voting blocs, might tilt in the 2028 or 2032 presidential elections.
The second problem is the numbers themselves. Even if all 11?million of these people had magically been made eligible for citizenship and, for those over 18, the vote in time for last years presidential election, there is no evidence they would have had a major impact on the outcome or on Mr. Obamas margin of victory in the electoral college.