A new roster of moderate and conservative Latino
groups could have a seat at President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration
policy table.
Trump, who campaigned on taking a strong stance
against illegal immigration, and did better with Latino voters than
expected – getting 29 percent of their vote, and more than 35 percent in
some regions -- could find common ground on the issue with groups like
the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and even conservative leaders who
did not endorse him and have leaned toward a moderate approach to
immigration.
Since the election, groups and Latino leaders around
the country who vehemently denounced Trump for his calls for strict
enforcement have called meetings to strategize how to tailor their push
for immigration reform to the new political landscape that few expected
to see in 2017. Many have reached out to Trump’s transition members to
arrange meetings or pledge to work together – despite differences of
opinion -- to move forward the long-stalled plan to fix the immigration
system.
TOP TRUMP ADVISER PREDICTS SWIFT CHANGE ON IMMIGRATION
Their efforts have been unfolding at the local, state
and national levels, though they have generated little attention
compared to the spotlight on protests against Trump and warnings by some
advocacy groups about mass deportations.
“By the will of the people, Donald Trump was elected
the 45th president of the United States, that is the fact of the
matter,” said Javier Palomarez, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce, to FoxNews.com “Just as we asked Donald Trump to adhere to
the election results, to be respectful of the process, we, as Latinos,
must do the same in return. Now we need to come together as Americans
and put aside differences.”
Palomarez, who had been a vocal critic of Trump and
who endorsed Hillary Clinton, said he called Michael Cohen, executive
vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump,
to express his desire to work with the president-elect on immigration
and other issues of concern to Latinos.
“We both agreed to let bygones be bygones,” Palomarez
said of his conversation with Cohen the day after the election. “Our
job is to remove the emotion, do what’s right for this country, and
offer ourselves to the extent that we can add value.”
“We’re in favor of an economic approach to
immigration,” Palomarez said to FoxNews.com “For us and the 4.1 million
Hispanic-owned firms in the United States, immigration reform has always
been an economic imperative.”
A feasible approach to immigration reform, Palomarez
said, would continue to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit and commitment
to hard work that “make businesses stronger and advance the American
Dream.”
Palmorez said that he and other leaders will be
closely watching Trump’s steps to gauge how open he will be to ideas
about how to deal with immigrants here illegally who have not committed
crimes.
“Can we advise him on his policies before he acts or
pushes for policy changes?” Palomarez asked rhetorically. “Can we
collaborate with him on areas of mutual interest?”
On social media, many immigrants without documents
have been debating how to move forward – whether to try to legalize
their status and take a risk, whether to hide, whether to return to
their homelands, whether to keep protesting.
Many have posted comments assailing Obama, saying
that in eight years he did nothing to advance comprehensive immigration
reform, and instead deported nearly 3 million people. Many say they hope
that Trump deports criminals and people who pose a threat to national
security.
Daniel Garza, executive director of the conservative
group Libre Initiative, funded by the Koch brothers, said that
immigration must be dealt with on a piecemeal basis, not
comprehensively. Garza said that most Latinos agree with the need to
secure the nation’s borders and enforcing immigration laws.
“There’s a consensus for permanent immigration
reform,” Garza said, adding that Libre has opposed the Obama
administration’s executive actions to give a temporary shield from
deportation to immigrants brought to the United States illegally as
minors.
“No president can undermine the constitution,” Garza
said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t move quickly on immigration reform, it
has to be the first order of business.”
Garza’s group is planning to focus its efforts in the
next few weeks to pushing for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants
who qualified for the executive action program known as Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from being deported.
Trump has denounced DACA as executive overreach by
Obama, and his immigration advisers says it is one of the Obama
administration’s executive actions the president-elect plans to rescind.
Garza said that DACA was an unconstitutional stopgap
by Obama, but that those who qualified for it – and therefore were able
to obtain work permits and driver’s licenses – should not be punished
for coming forward.
“I worry a lot about the DACA kids, we need to
protect them, they’re vulnerable, we will push to move quickly toward
immigration reform. “We’re concerned about kids who came forward because
the president promised them protection and exposed them to quick
deportation. That’s not fair.”
Ali Noorani, the executive director of the National
Immigration Forum, which advocates for more lenient policies, said that
many Republicans support allowing some people who meet strict criteria a
chance to legalize.
Many activists groups see these Republicans as a conduit between them and the new administration.
“We’re going to have meetings with House and Senate
Republicans,” Noorani said. “We can have a functional legal immigration
system, and effective and humane enforcement.”
Trump’s tough talk on immigration dominated the
headlines. He vowed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, as
well as step up interior enforcement by going after criminals, making
sure they are not released back into the community, and deport them.
At the same time, several times – including in a town
hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity – Trump said that he was mindful
of people who, other than breaking civil immigration laws, were
hard-working, have built lives and raised families here, and were eager
to legalize their status.
Trump said that he would determine how to handle this population after the borders are secure.
“He said he was going to deport only those involved
in nefarious activities – the rapists, murderers and drug traffickers,”
said Reverend Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian
Leadership Conference, who met with Trump during the campaign.
“Donald Trump spoke at some of our churches,” Rodriguez said.
“He acquired the support of 30 percent of the Latino
community, the reason is because Latinos are people of faith and Hillary
failed miserably. Donald Trump can grow that 30 percent if he engages
the community with compassion.”
“I don’t want Latinos living in fear,” he said.
“He must build a wall, but also a bridge,” the pastor
said, noting that he is seeking another meeting with Trump to discuss
working together. “I want to make sure he’s faithful to his commitment”
to help minorities gain access to better education and job
opportunities.
Rodriguez said he wants to help -- through his vast
network of multicultural faith leaders and congregants -- bring people
together and stop the vitriol pervading social media.
All told, Palomarez said: “One thing I’ve learned in last 12, 13 14 months is to not underestimate Donald Trump.”
“I think he will bring that same grit, that same
drive, to his policy agenda and get a lot of what he plans done,” he
said. “He may not do it the way others would, but by God he gets it
done.”