I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake.

Four years ago it was a contentious discussion between Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney that signaled the new Republican position on immigration reform.

It seems that a lawn-care service hired by Romney had used undocumented workers.  According to Romney, he later  changed companies, explaining “I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake, I can’t have illegals.”

The message to the Republican faithful–no pathway to citizenship for the undocumented.  The message to the Latino voters nationwide–you and your kind are not welcome here.

Fast-forward four years!  Texas Governor Rick Perry pushes back when attacked for his Texas Dream Act, by recalling the lawn-care incident from the previous primary.  Especially noticeable in this argument was the constant use of the expression “illegal immigrant”. This expression has become a code word for Republicans. It panders to the “they don’t belong here” sentiment that many anglo-american people feel toward Latinos, documented or not.

It is an extension of the “This is America–We speak English here” reaction to anyone who speaks Spanish.  It fuels the legislative attempts to “officially” establish English as the country’s language.  In short it is a part of a rejection of all things Hispanic, including the people.

Rick Perry is in serious trouble politically, we are told.  His crime: he supported the right of undocumented youth to be educated beyond high-school, without paying onerous tuition increases.  He wanted to assist these young Hispanics as they moved toward citizenship.  Among the Republican faithful, this is the ultimate heresy.

The current Republican approach is to make life as difficult as possible for innocent children of the undocumented who call the USA home.  With little regard for the rising “second-generation” the Republican candidates focus their attention on the big wall between Mexico and this country–how long, how high, and if it should be electrified.

In the 1960s the Republican Party adopted a “southern strategy” which pandered to the white supremacists in order to win southern votes, and in the process alienated the African-American  voter.  In this decade the Republicans seem determined to use a similar strategy against our Hispanic families.  Such a strategy is indicative of the value this political party places upon a particular ethnicity.

I have found our country’s Hispanics to be warm, hospitable and hard working people.  They also have long memories.  The Republicans will live with the results of this insensitivity for many years.