Jeb Bush to Republicans: Stop Being 'Obstacle' to Immigration Reform

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a staunch supporter of “comprehensive immigration reform,” urged Republicans on Monday to stop being “the obstacle” to immigration reform.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal with Clint Bolick, Bush asserted that “immigration reform” was a gateway issue for Hispanic and Asian voters. He said Republicans needed to “cease being the obstacle to immigration reform and instead point the way toward the solution.”

There is no evidence that passing immigration reform will make Asians and Hispanics who voted for Democrats more likely to become Republicans, especially since the bill would hurt working class Asians and Hispanics by flooding the labor pool and lowering their wages.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate’s immigration bill would lower wages, increase unemployment, and not solve the illegal immigration problem.

Bush and Bolick did not mention that study while claiming that failing to vote for “comprehensive immigration reform” would promote illegal immigration, add people to the welfare rolls, and make the borders less secure.

Conservatives want to ensure there is border security first, before dealing with other aspects of the immigration system that may need to be reformed. 

But Bush and Bolick advocated for a “comprehensive approach,” writing that “immigration reform cannot happen though a piecemeal approach” and can only be solved with 1,000 page bills that legislators may not even read let alone understand. 

They also urged Republicans to compromise with Democrats because immigration reform “cannot be enacted with Republican votes alone.”

Bush and Bolick co-authored a book, Immigration Wars, that advocated immigration reform earlier this year and are looking to exert pressure on House Republicans to pass a more “comprehensive” immigration reform bill after the Senate passed its bill 68-32 last week. Unlike in the Senate, though, Republicans have a majority in the House.