Cool Reception for Amnesty at Conservative Conference

The organizers of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held just outside of Washington, D.C. embraced amnesty, but judging by the reaction of the attendees, it wasn’t exactly well received. After the three-day conference, it became clear that if the GOP wants to also embrace amnesty, it risks losing its base.

During the three days of featured guests and panelists in the main ballroom, CPAC wasted no time featuring a pro-amnesty panel, scheduling the panel in the main ballroom early on the first day. The panel – “Respecting Families and the Rule of Law: A Lasting Immigration Policy” – pushed for open-borders and amnesty for millions of illegal aliens by arguing for more foreign workers to grow the economy (despite high unemployment) and calling for the need for more Conservative voters (despite the trend that new immigrants typically vote for Democrats). The one applause line came when Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Id.) said we must secure the borders before proceeding with any other type of immigration reform. And while other members of the panel tried to soften their rhetoric by using the term “undocumented immigrants,” members of the audience would shout out “illegal.”

American Conservative Union President Al Cardenas (the ACU hosts CPAC) has expressed support for amnesty, but the timing of the panel did suggest that CPAC knew it could be poorly received by the attendees. Thursday morning is always one the least attended time periods for the conference, and the panel was squeezed between keynote speeches by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, former House Rep. Allen West, and Sen. Pat Toomey and followed by the highly-anticipated speeches by Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul. Furthermore, with the exhibition hall opening just before the immigration panel, it was a perfect time for attendees to leave the main ballroom, grab lunch, and check out the vendors before making their way back to the ballroom for Rubio and Paul.

Speaking of Sen. Rubio, he didn’t exactly promote his participation in the Gang of Eight during his 15 minutes in the CPAC spotlight. Not once did he refer to immigration, which makes you wonder if even he realizes how unpopular an amnesty is with the conservative base. After all, the last thing Sen. Rubio wants to read in the papers on Friday is how he was booed during the immigration portion of his speech.

Later on Thursday, Texas governor and former GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry was at the main podium. He didn’t discuss immigration either, but he did refer to the GOP’s poor showing among Latinos during the presidential election and suggested that the party do more to reach out. The attendees, expecting him to make a pitch for amnesty, began booing, but Gov. Perry quickly began discussing how conservatives can appeal to Latinos through economic messaging.In the evening, Heritage President and former Senator Jim DeMint was the featured speaker during the Presidential Dinner. DeMint said, “We have to fix the system, but we cannot design our national immigration policies to accommodate those who broke our laws. Granting citizenship to those who came here illegally violates the basic principles of freedom. It is wrong because it undermines the very reason immigrants flee other countries and come to America: our rule of law. And we know from history amnesty and citizenship does not solve the problem, it only encourages more law breaking.” 

Nothing on Friday or Saturday’s agenda dealt specifically with immigration, but that didn’t keep it from being discussed. Friday’s first speaker was Donald Trump who called an amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens a “suicide mission” for Republicans. Trump said that an amnesty would add 11 million Democratic voters to the rolls. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter advanced that line on Saturday. She said that if Republicans go along with amnesty, they’ll never win another national election, and even went as far to say that she’s now a single-issue voter against amnesty.

Saturday also featured a panel in one of the smaller rooms called “The Uninvited” promoted by Breitbart.com. The well-attended panel discussed the topics that weren’t allowed to be discussed at CPAC, including immigration reform without an amnesty for illegal aliens. NumbersUSA’s Director of Government Relations Rosemary Jenks was on the panel and talked about the national security threats and fiscal costs that come with a blanket amnesty.

Before CPAC started, Sen. Lindsey Graham said the Gang of Eight doesn’t want to release its bill before the two-week Easter recess because it will get “shot up” by the constituents. Sen. Graham’s comment and Sen. Rubio’s reluctance to talk amnesty at CPAC indicate that even the Republicans helping to write the bill know it’s not popular with the base. But instead of trying to sell conservatives the idea, it looks like the strategy is to sneak it through Congress with the hopes that no one will even notice.

CHRIS CHMIELENSKI is the Director of Content and Activism for NumbersUSA