Former Governor Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will be in Orlando today to address the nation’s Latino leadership at the organization’s 29th Annual Conference.
All eyes are on Romney to see whether or not he will address the issue of immigration, following President Barack Obama’s surprise announcement last Friday to stop deporting certain young people who are illegal immigrants in the United States. While certain key criteria must be met to be considered for relief from removal from the country, Mr. Obama’s immigration policy shift is estimated to affect 800,000 young people, many of whom are Latinos.
Since Obama’s announcement, Romney has said little in terms of whether or not he supports the policy shift. More broadly, he has flip-flopped on a number of immigration issues. In the past, he has indicated that he did not believe in forcing 11 million people to leave the U.S. at gunpoint and on another occasion, he opined that all illegal immigrants should exercise “self-deportation.”
Now, Romney will have an opportunity Thursday when he addresses the more than 1,000 Latino public officials and their supporters, to state his true position on immigration.
Victor Sanchez, Central Florida Chapter President of the Labor Council for Latin America Advancement (LCLAA) says it’s time for Romney to come clean on where he actually stands on immigration policy.
“I don’t think he realizes just how important an issue this is to Hispanics in Florida. If he wants our vote, he better have a good plan that provides a true path to citizenship,” stated Sanchez.
Meanwhile, President Obama will also address the Latin leadership conference on Friday. Obama’s June surprise has been met with wide support with about 63 percent of Americans supportive of the immigration policy shift.
The NALEO 29th Annual Conference takes place less than four months before Latino voters are expected to turn out in record numbers for the November elections, with at least 12.2 million casting ballots, according to projections released by the NALEO Educational Fund.
Latinos – now one of out every six Americans – are set to exhibit extraordinary influence at the polls this year, likely supplying the margin of victory in several states and contests.
