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Perhaps no issue has bedeviled Republicans in recent election cycles more than illegal immigration. GOP candidates have been snared, over and over again, by the difficulty of appealing to conservative GOP primary voters who dominate the primary process while not alienating Latino voters, whose influence has grown in battleground states with each presidential cycle.

This week, as the controversy raged on about the anti-immigrant comments of Donald Trump, his fellow GOP contenders found themselves seared by the damage that he was inflicting on the Republican brand. When Trump first made the inflammatory assertion in his June announcement speech that some illegal immigrants from Mexico are criminals and "rapists," many of his rivals were slow to respond. But as the fallout has continued, more are speaking out -- trying to reinforce that Trump's views are not representative of the image of the Republican Party.

READ: Donald Trump digs in on immigration

Some, like Jeb Bush, have sharply criticized Trump's remarks, while others like Marco Rubio -- who has taken flak from conservatives for helping usher an immigration reform bill through the Senate -- have seemed unwilling to engage beyond paper statements. And all of them will be tested on the issue before a national audience during the upcoming debates that will weed out the weaker contenders from the field.

By infuriating many Latino voters, who have pointed to a number of studies showing that crime is actually lower among illegal immigrants than the broader population, the debate has brought unwelcome comparisons to recent struggles by Republicans to talk about immigration in a way that broadens their appeal among minority voters.

It revived talk, for example, of Mitt Romney's suggestion during the 2012 Republican primary that he was in favor of "self-deportation" for millions of illegal immigrants -- a statement that made it extremely difficult for him to draw large numbers of Latinos to support his campaign when it mattered later in the general election.

RELATED: GOPers run from Trump on immigration stance

President George W. Bush's strong performance among Latino voters -- he notched 44% of the Latino vote in 2004 compared to Romney's 27% in 2012, according to national exit polls -- seems like a distant memory to many Republicans now, despite a focus on building goodwill among minority voters by Republican National Committee operatives.

"We've gone from 44% to 27% among Hispanic voters, for a reason. You'll never convince me that it hasn't been about the way that we've handled this issue," South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said in a telephone interview with CNN on Tuesday.

"Mitt Romney showed a lot of political courage by saying that (his comment about) 'self-deportation' was a mistake, and now here we have Donald Trump casting 11 million people in a very derogatory manner. That's a problem," said Graham, who is also seeking the GOP presidential nomination. "There are some within the 11 million that are bad people, but I cannot tell you how harmful it is to reinforce a narrative that Republicans basically have very little respect for people."

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Immigration: The debate Republicans don't want ...

California Murder Suspect Had Seven Felonies and Five Deportations Francisco Sanchez, who shot and killed Kate Steinle at San Franciscos Pier 14, is an illegal alien with seven convictions and five deportations under his belt. The suspect admitted to killing the young woman at the popular tourist destination in an interview released this weekend. Delaware Senate Approves Bill to Give Drivers Licenses to Illegal Aliens On June 23, the Delaware Senate approved S.B. 59 to allow illegal alien residents in the state to receive drivers licenses. The Senate voted 17-1 to advance the bill for approval in the House of Representatives. California Governor and Legislators Craft Deal to Give Illegal Aliens Health Care Last Wednesday, California Governor Jerry Brown and a handful of state legislators announced that they reached a $115.4 billion budget agreement to cover illegal aliens in the states Medi-Cal program. Federal law already requires states to... Illinois Passes Bill to Give Law Licenses to DACA Beneficiaries Last week, the Illinois General Assembly passed S.B. 23 to allow illegal aliens granted deferred action under President Obamas DACA program admission to the state bar. The bill enables DACA beneficiaries to practice law in the state despite not having a legal immigration status.

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Home | Federation for American Immigration Reform

The U.S. government will now allow minors in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras who have a relative living legally in the United States to apply for asylum or a residency permit at offices in their own country, Vice President Joe Biden said Friday.

Topics: hispanic children, immigration reform, immigration news

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to announce next week a package of executive measures that will protect some five million undocumented immigrants from deportation, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Topics: Florida Immigration Reform, immigration reform, obama

Unaccompanied minors from Central America are flooding across the United States-Mexico border in response to rumors that American immigration policy is changing. The kids want in before its too late.

Topics: hispanic children, immigration reform, American Dream, Immigrants

With President Obamas decision to delay executive action on immigration until after the November elections, the hopes of thousands of American families facing deportation were dashed. On a press call yesterday, national, local immigration advocates, legal experts, and family membersincluding those profiled by Julia Preston of the New York Times todaydiscussed current Ohio deportation cases in the pipeline and the many good people and families who simply dont have two months to wait for action on immigration. To listen to the call click here.

Topics: hispanic community, immigration reform, immigration, hispanic families

Comprehensive immigration reform legislation would give a majority of Americas 11 million undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship and work authorization. But with immigration reform stalled in the House, President Obama announced that he plans to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress. The President is reportedly considering deferring the deportations of up to 5 million immigrants, starting with those with families. While most columnists have supported the Presidents authority to take action, a minority have accused President Obama of rewriting the law and called him a domestic Caesar.

Topics: Florida Immigration News, Florida Immigration Reform, Florida Hispanic community, Obama administration

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Florida Immigration Reform - FSHCC

Under the direction of the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security has started changing the enforcement of United States immigration laws, focusing on integrating long-term undocumented immigrants instead of deporting them. The DHS has shifted its methods of enforcement to target onlythree groups of undocumented immigrants for deportation: convicted criminals, terrorism threats or those who recently crossed the border, according to the Washington Post.

The new policies push agents to ignore the majority of undocumented immigrants except for the three focus groups, and come amid legal challenges to the President Barack Obama's executive action from last year, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, which protected roughly 5 million eligible undocumented immigrants from deportation who have children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents before a federal judge put a stay on its enforcement until the conclusion of the lawsuits.

The change in DHS policy, however, merely governs the actions of immigration officials, rather than offering undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, which may have a wider effect, according to the Washington Post.

"We are making it clear that we should not expend our limited resources on deporting those who have been here for years, have committed no serious crimes, and have, in effect, become integrated members of our society," said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in a recent speech. "These people are here, they live among us, and they are not going away."

The news comes after a Monday report by the Center for New Community revealing that DHS employees have been colluding with white nationalist, anti-immigrant groups. Unions representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents consulted the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Center for Immigration Studies and NumbersUSA, three anti-immigration groups, on immigration enforcement, according to Al Jazeera.

Many suggest that the policy changes may make drastic changes to the relationship between immigration enforcement and undocumented immigrants.

"It does have the potential to be extremely significant," Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, told the Washington Post about the policy change. "It would allow people to live without that noose over their heads of the threat of deportation at all times."

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Immigration Reform 2015: DHS Decreases Deportations ...

Jul. 1, 2015

United Nations refugee agency reports that record 137,000 people have crossed Mediterranean Sea in search of better life in Europe so far in 2015; figure represents an 83 percent increase from 2014, and highlights growing refugee crisis. MORE

Op-Ed article by policy expert Nils Muiznieks argues that Europe's ambivalent and even cruel response to refugee crisis represents unacceptable backsliding on shared values of human rights that have marked Continent's progress since World War II; calls for more humane laws concerning migrants, stronger search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean and several other measures. MORE

European leaders end two-day summit meeting in Brussels about Continent's migration crisis with pledge to spread 40,000 refugees across nations, though plan lacks any details; meeting exposed angry passions and deep divisions among countries, made more fraught by failure of Greek debt negotiations. MORE

Violent anti-immigration protests in Slovakia and gains by right-wing Danish People's Party in Denmark's elections contribute to sense of fragmentation across European Union as it struggles to keep Greece from default and hold its currency together. MORE

Indonesian smuggler says Australian authorities stopped his boat at sea and paid him over $30,000 to return 65 migrants he was carrying to Indonesia; story, if confirmed, points to tightening of Australia's immigration policy under Prime Min Tony Abbott and potential violation of Austrailan, Indonesian and international laws governing smuggling, bribery and treatment of asylum seekers. MORE

Supreme Court votes, 5-4, to uphold denial of visa for American Fauzia Din's Afghan husband Kanishka Berashk, who was barred from entry into United States because of his past connections to Taliban. MORE

Editorial examines incidents at Walt Disney World and elsewhere that highlight deep problems with the H-1B visa program, saying it allows companies to recruit skilled foreign workers, through outsourcing programs, for pittance at expense of their American counterparts; observes that loopholes allow companies to subvert program created to help companies fill skill gaps when domestic candidates are unavailable; calls on lawmakers to amend program as part of larger immigration reform bill. MORE

United Nations officials say some of 65 Asian migrants who arrived in Indonesia after being intercepted by Australian authorities tell refugee workers that Australians paid smugglers to take them to Indonesia; report has raised questions about hard-line immigration policies that helped Australian Prime Min Tony Abbot win election in 2013. MORE

Politicians in Italy's north say they will not shelter any more migrants rescued in Mediterranean Sea; announcement comes as rescuers pluck 6,000 more migrants from waters. MORE

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Immigration - Times Topics - The New York Times