New York, Republican candidates hoping to survive a tough primary election shouldn’t worry that supporting immigration reform will automatically sink their chances of winning.
GOP primary voters in South Carolina and caucus goers in Iowa, two states that play influential roles in the presidential primary process, are open to an earned path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, according to two focus groups conducted in March by the center-right organization Resurgent Republic.
Focus-group participants voted in primaries or caucuses in each of the last two elections and described themselves as conservatives.
Immigration has long been seen as a toxic subject for these voters. The focus group results are unscientific, but organizers hope they represent a sea change for the immigration issue in the GOP.
Primary voters who took part in the focus groups articulated support for a path to citizenship, as long as it meets certain criteria, such as passing a criminal background check, paying fines and back taxes, learning English and civics, and going to the so-called back of the line of immigrants seeking permanent residency. Any immigration bill must include increased border-security measures, the voters said. Those provisions match language in a bipartisan immigration bill being crafted in the Senate and a plan supported by President Barack Obama.