Immigration worries GOP base

DENVER — DENVER Republicans in the U.S. Congress are inching toward a deal on immigration, but will they lose part of their base as a result? Since last year's election, many top conservatives have distanced themselves from the idea that the country's 11million illegal immigrants must be removed, instead signaling a new openness to allowing them to eventually become citizens.

Demographics and election returns are pushing Republican leaders away from many of the party's conservative voters, many of them white and from more rural regions.

In 2007, a grassroots rebellion led Republicans to reject then-President George W. Bush's immigration overhaul because it included a process in which otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants could eventually become citizens. Activists derided the provision as an "amnesty." After conservative tea party groups toppled various Republicans in primaries over issues that included their immigration stands, the party's rhetoric and proposals became increasingly tough.

That's changed since the drubbing the Republican Party took last November as President Barack Obama won a second term. Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney received underwhelming support from voters in the two fastest-growing minority groups: 27percent of Hispanic voters and an even smaller share from Asians, according to exit polls. In contrast, George W. Bush won an estimated 44percent of the Hispanic vote in his 2004 re-election.

Prominent Republicans now support legalizing the status of some illegal immigrants. The outline of a bill to do just that was unveiled Monday by a group of eight senators, four from each party, and Obama reiterated his support for a similar overhaul Tuesday.

Even in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, a half-dozen bipartisan members are nearing completion on wide-ranging legislation that would include a pathway to legalize the immigration status of those here without authorization.

It's unclear what, if any, immigration bill could pass Congress. Still, the shift in tone signals to some who favor tighter restrictions on immigration that parts of the Republican Party are ready to be flexible. They warn that the party will squander a valuable resource by alienating its base.

"I don't know how you can even quantify the loss of enthusiasm," said former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a longtime thorn in party elders' sides for his aggressive stance on illegal immigration.

Other Republicans dismiss that worry. "Where else are they going to go?" asked Sig Rogich, a veteran Las Vegas-based Republican operative who has long pushed for a more immigrant-friendly Republican Party.

"They'll get over it."

Michael Long, a retired Air Force employee in Colorado Springs, is resigned to the Republican Party cutting a deal.

"The last election scared the heck out of Republicans, and the numbers aren't going to go down for the Latino vote," said Long, 50.

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