Hillary Clinton Backs Path To Citizenship, Calls It ‘A Family Issue’
Hillary Clinton staked out her position on immigration reform recently, saying she supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. She also praised President Barack Obama’s executive orders to protect some immigrants from deportation.
Hillary Clinton is rolling out her platform on key issues like immigration reform and working to separate herself from the current president.
The New York Times reports the immigration issue came up at a campaign event in Rancho High School in Nevada on Tuesday. Clinton attempted to appreciate the voters’ frustration with the federal government’s failure to reform the immigration system while explaining her own position.
“It’s a family issue. It’s an economic issue, too, but it is at its heart a family issue.”
She added, “If we claim that we are for families, we have to pull together and solve the outstanding issues around our broken immigration system. We can’t wait any longer for a path to full and equal citizenship.”
Still, the comments didn’t create a stark contrast between Clinton and Obama, who also supports a path to citizenship, or what the White House calls “earned citizenship.”
Likewise, President Obama has called for a comprehensive immigration reform package for years, but has been forced to settle for executive orders.
Hillary Clinton praised the orders according to the Hill, saying that as president she would “do everything possible under the law to go even further” if Congress failed to produce an immigration reform bill.
Clinton also criticized Republicans who have endorsed granting “legal status” for undocumented immigrants.
“When they talk about ‘legal status,’ that is code for ‘second-class status.'”
Republicans Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio both once supported a path to citizenship according to the Wall Street Journal, but eventually changed their positions.
Governor Jeb Bush, who is married to a woman from Mexico and speaks Spanish in the home, now says he supports legal status for undocumented immigrants, although still wants to see a reform.
Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban decent, has been calling for greater border enforcement to go along with any immigration reform bill.
CNN reports that Hillary Clinton now leads against both of those potential 2016 Republican candidates among Hispanic voters. Considering the coalition that elected Barack Obama drew heavily from the Latino population, Clinton’s early popularity is a good sign for her campaign.
Hillary Clinton said she’d support driver’s licenses for immigrants who are in the country illegally as well.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]
