GOP senators look to Romney to lead on response to Obama plan for young immigrants

Source: Washington Post

When it comes to President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy, Senate Republicans are quite sure they don’t like it. They just don’t want to say if it amounts to amnesty, at least not yet, while they await guidance on the politically charged issue from presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

“If it leads to citizenship as a reward for some kind of illegal entry, I think it could be argued” to be amnesty, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who normally is one of Obama’s most plainspoken critics.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia said the president’s announcement last Friday could be called “amnesty light,” if not the real thing.

“It all depends on how you define ‘amnesty,’ and I’m not going to get into that debate,” added Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, second-ranking party leader and another frequent critic of Obama.

“I wouldn’t use the A-word to describe this. ... That’s a word that gets used a lot,” said Sen. John Cornyn. The Texas lawmaker is in charge of the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate this fall and has seen internal divisions develop since Obama’s announcement between his party’s establishment and lawmakers and candidates more aligned with the tea party.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-senators-look-to-romney-to-lead-on-response-to-obama-plan-for-young-immigrants/2012/06/19/gJQAyS3loV_story.html

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