Perhaps the most notable policy pronouncement in the GOP presidential race so far is Donald Trump’s vow to build a new border wall and deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
The Republican Party in California, however, is not having it.
In a direct rebuke to Trump – as well as a bid to stay relevant in a state with a Latino majority – the California GOP has done a notable about face, softening its stance on immigration.
At the California Republican Party Convention in Anaheim, delegates voted to drop a previous call for deporting undocumented immigrants. The new platform still opposes “amnesty,” but it supports worker visa programs.The platform also declares the Republican Party to be “pro-immigrant” and drops numerous references to “illegal aliens.” A previous call for local law enforcement officers to be “deputized” in the fight against illegal immigration has also been jettisoned.
“We took a common sense approach. We wanted to make sure the wording does not come across offensively,” Marcellano Valdez, a Central Valley delegate who helped write the new language, told the Orange County Register. Valdez added that “Trump does not speak for me or Republicans or my party.”
Latinos have overwhelmingly voted Democratic in recent years, helping to push the GOP to the fringes of California politics. No Republicans hold statewide office right now and Democrats hold big majorities in both the Assembly and state Senate.