Immigration, Latino | featured news

California's elected Republicans have long had a simple approach to illegal immigration: Those who broke the law coming here should leave. But the confluence of politics and personal threat have now put many Republican legislators in Washington and Sacramento in a very different place: eager to embrace an overhaul of immigration laws and willing to consider legal status for some of the country's nearly 12 million illegal immigrants, 3 million of whom live in California.

George W. Bush was president of the United States less than five years ago. You'd never know it by listening to Republican politicians or talking with GOP party strategists -- all of whom seem perfectly willing to simply erase Bush from their collective memory. (It's a sort of political version of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.")

The outsized role that Latino voters played in securing victories for President Obama and Democratic Senate candidates has energized the effort to rewrite America's immigration laws, but opposition in Congress, particularly among House Republicans, remains a significant hurdle.

President Obama says he's confident he can get an immigration bill -- because Republicans need Hispanic votes.

Mitt Romney plans to make an appeal to Hispanic voters Monday in a speech where he is expected to distinguish himself as the better presidential candidate on economy and immigration, a topic that has brought his campaign considerable controversy.

Vice President Joe Biden railed Tuesday against the GOP's hard-line stance on immigration in a speech warning Latino voters of the consequences if they "sit on your hands" in the coming elections.

The Obama administration will relax enforcement of deportation rules for young people brought to the United States without legal status, a softening of immigration policy that is likely to appeal to Hispanic voters in an election year.

Charles Garcia says GOP candidates' stances on immigration give President Obama an opportunity to rack up big vote totals among Latinos.

As far as political issues go, immigration continuously comes in at or near the top of the list for Hispanics, yet they continue to support Obama for president, who has an increasingly negative appeal on the issue.

President Obama's plan to ease rules for some illegal immigrants is likely to shore up his standing among crucial Latino voters while igniting a new fight with Republicans as he seeks reelection.