Republicans have a truly damaged brand with Hispanic voters, especially in the wake of racist comments made recently by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). Given the fact that the population of Hispanics is sure to increase going forward, the Grand Old Party won’t survive in presidential politics if it doesn’t find a way to broaden its appeal to them.

For this reason, the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives should pass the immigration legislation that was drafted by the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” and passed through the U.S. Senate on June 27.

While many of their conservative constituents may disagree, it’s in the long-term best interest of the Republican Party that this happen.

Speaking on illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border, King controversially said, “For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds — and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”

Republican leaders have since denounced King’s racially charged comments, but by the time they had, the damage was already done.

The primary reason President Barack Obama received 71 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012 is because of the widespread impression among Hispanics today that the Democratic Party stands with them and the GOP does not.

This isn’t a recent political phenomenon—since 1984, at least 58 percent of the Hispanic vote has gone to the Democratic candidate in every presidential election, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

Many in the media believe Republicans don’t support a path to citizenship for ideological reasons, while more cynical pundits argue that Republicans don’t support a path to citizenship for political reasons.

Those within the Republican Party who are genuinely ideologically opposed to the Senate immigration bill might be tough to sway. But representatives are wrong if they believe it’s in the political interest of their party to oppose a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2011 was 52 million — 16.7 percent of the nation’s total population.

Republicans will be doomed if they continue to restrict and vilify the illegal Hispanic immigrants currently living in the country. The reason is simple — they belong to the same social group as the legal Hispanic immigrants who supported Obama in 2008 and 2012.

As the Hispanic population in the United States continues to increase through legal immigration, so will the number of Hispanic citizens that are eligible to vote. This is an irreversible fact; it’s not conditional on whether Congress passes legislation offering a path to citizenship for current illegal immigrants.

Unfortunately, many House Republicans seem more concerned with getting re-elected than the future of the party. Republicans from Tea Party districts fear they will be demonized from the right if they vote in favor of a path to citizenship.

The argument from Republican leaders in the House is that a piece-by-piece approach to immigration reform, which breaks it up into succinct parts, will be more effective than the Senate plan.

It remains unclear whether Republicans plan on including a path to citizenship in their piecemeal approach.

The fate of the Senate immigration bill also has important implications for many illegal Hispanic immigrants striving for a chance to attend college. The legislation provides a five-year path to legal permanent residency for those who have entered the United States before the age of 16, lived in the country since December 31, 2011 and graduated from a U.S. high school or received a GED certificate, known as Dreamers.

At the very least, the Senate bill deserves to come to a vote in the House.

The GOP has an opportunity to save face with Hispanic voters by passing the Senate bill.

While the distributional effects vary across interest groups, most economists agree that immigration is generally a net benefit to an economy. Republicans need to start viewing Hispanic immigrants as assets to our struggling economy rather than a burden.

The majority of the country will not want to support the GOP going forward if it doesn’t view and embrace human beings in a more positive light.

Ethan Demers is a senior political science and history major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].

Published on August 7, 2013 at 12:59 am