Call it preparation for a 2016 presidential run, or simply pressure from GOP constituents, but Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) is reneging on supporting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in this year of 2015.
When asked on the March 1 edition of "Fox News Sunday" whether he supported comprehensive immigration reform, Walker said he wouldn't consider it until there was greater border security. "I think the better approach is to enforce the laws and to give employers, job creators, the tools like E-Verify and other things, to make sure the law is being upheld going forward," Walker said.
The governor disavowed previous endorsements of an "amnesty," citing President Barack Obama's executive order delaying deportation for millions of undocumented individuals. Walker did confess to previously supporting amnesty.
Walker has a history of flip-flopping on the issue, first questioning whether a proposed Arizona law promoted racial profiling. He backtracked upon receiving abhorrent feedback on Facebook. In December 2012, the governor said he would fight to prevent such a bill in Wisconsin, yet seven months later Walker claimed he hadn't taken a position at all because "I wasn't elected to congress."
Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of pro-immigration reform group America's Voice, said Walker's comments are nothing to scoff at.
"Now that Scott Walker is on the big stage, he has made it clear he is going to pander to the nativist right at the expense of being able to compete for Latino votes in general elections," Sharry said in speaking with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "OK, he's made his choice. But he's going to have to live with it, and his party is going to have to live with it."
Republicans want to secure the border and improve immigration enforcement but, unsurprisingly, haven't been able to pander to Latinos; 40 million of which will be eligible to vote by 2030. Texas and 25 other states have sued Obama on the grounds that his bill shielding immigrants is unconstitutional. The ruling - which is on indefinite hold - puts millions who stood to benefit from drivers licenses and work permits in limbo of deportation.
"Well, I don't believe in amnesty," Walker said. "And part of the reason why I made that a firm position is I look at the way that this president has mishandled that issue. I'm one of the governors that joined - I was one of the first governors that joined the lawsuit that has been successful, at least on this initial technicality. And I hope we prevail ultimately throughout the courts."
Walker's "flip flops" may cost him once GOP primaries begin. Aside from Tea Party-conservatives, some Republicans are warming to the idea of some kind of reform, as evident in the House approving a nine-month funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
Sides reached an impasse when Republican leaders wanted language overturning Obama's executive actions included. House Speaker John Boehner invoked his colleagues' wrath by working with Democrats to pass a bill void of reversing Obama's plan.
"When are Republican presidential candidates going to learn? Mitt Romney lurched to the right on immigration in the primary and lost the general," Sharry said.
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