Moyers: The Rise of Hispanic America

Continued from previous page

And what has hurt Republicans is that very negative rhetoric on the immigration issue. That has hurt Republicans tremendously. And the fact that now they have a candidate for the first time like Jorge said, even in the last election, McCain, all of the candidates have always embraced immigration reform. This is the first time we have a candidate that says, "I want immigration reform for legal immigration, legal immigration."

He keeps emphasizing legal immigration thinking that Latinos are so ignorant that they're going to buy it when he's talking about legal immigration and not finding a solution. I even asked Romney during the forum, "You know, with all due respect the fact that you are not answering this question makes people feel like you're evading the answer.”

MARÍA ELENA SALINAS at the Univision Presidential Forum: If you become president are you going to deport them or not?

MITT ROMNEY at the Univision Presidential Forum: Well, we're not –

MARÍA ELENA SALINAS at the Univision Presidential Forum: Yes or no?

MITT ROMNEY at the Univision Presidential Forum: We're not going to we're not going to round up people around the country and deport them. [..] This is something that's going to have to be worked out by Republicans and Democrats together. I will lead a program that gets us to a permanent solution as opposed to what was done by the president which, with a few months before the election he puts in place something which is temporary which does not solve this issue. I will solve it on a permanent basis consistent with those principles.

MARÍA ELENA SALINAS And we still don't get an answer from him. And that is one of the things that is hurting Republicans.

BILL MOYERS: How did you come up with the question asking Romney if he felt like he was an immigrant?

JORGE RAMOS at the Univision Presidential Forum: Are you sure you're not a Hispanic?

MITT ROMNEY at the Univision Presidential Forum: I think for political purposes that might have helped me here at the University of Miami today. But truth is, as you know, my dad was born of American parents living in Mexico. But he came back to this country at age 5 or 6 and was helped to get on his feet and recognized this was the land of opportunity and he's been the role model and inspiration throughout my life.

JORGE RAMOS: It is unthinkable for any Latino to have a dad who was born in Mexico and not to call himself a Latino. And obviously it's a much more complicated story. It's they decided to because of religious--

BILL MOYERS: Mormon-- his grandfather went down there because he was a polygamist; he wanted more than one wife.

JORGE RAMOS: Exactly.

BILL MOYERS: Yeah, I watched it. I thought he was honest when he said--

JORGE RAMOS: He was honest.

BILL MOYERS: --at the end of that exchange he —

JORGE RAMOS: Nobody would buy it.

BILL MOYERS: I could tell you that I'm an immigrant but that would be disingenuous--

JORGE RAMOS: And nobody would buy it. And I think he's right on that--

BILL MOYERS: I think he was right about that.

JORGE RAMOS: I think he's about-- if he would call himself a Latino that 21 percent would go to 15 percent. It doesn't work that way. We have to find out who is the real Mitt Romney? The one who talked about that he didn't care about the he didn't have to worry about the 47 percent of the people? Or the one who told us in the meeting that he wants to be the president for 100 percent of Americans? That's the challenge for him.