RNC Hispanic Outreach Director: Romney Is ‘Still Deciding What His Position on Immigration Is’
Part of the reason for the RNC’s difficulty: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) is “still deciding what his position on immigration is,” as RNC Hispanic Outreach Director Bettina Inclán termed it.
The episode underscored the difficulty for Romney and Republicans more broadly as they seek to court a key constituency this year.
Hispanics are the country’s fastest-growing minority group, with a 43 percent increase in population from 2000 to 2010, and are expected to nearly double their current 16 percent share of the population by 2050.
Polls show President Obama currently besting Romney among Hispanics by as much as a 47-percent margin; adding to the challenge for Romney is the fact that he has emerged from a GOP primary race in which he tacked to the right on immigration.
While Republicans are aiming to woo Hispanic voters with a scaled-back version of the DREAM Act spearheaded by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Romney has yet to take a position on the proposal.