If we told you that a 2016 presidential candidate said, “We’ve got to do several things, and I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants… Certainly, we’ve got to do more to our borders, and people have to stop employing illegal immigrants,” you would probably guess one of the GOP candidates. But while that may be the sentiment of a select few in the GOP field, the words were actually uttered by Hillary Clinton in 2003.

Ramping up for the 2016 election, however, Hillary has changed her tune, as millions of illegal aliens have now become prospective voters. Democrats today realize that these “new Americans” can become a huge voting bloc and put several states permanently out of reach to the GOP. So Hillary is now squarely in favor of “full and equal citizenship” for everyone who wants to come to America, illegally or not.

Hillary’s new message is that she would “go even further” than Obama if Congress doesn’t act. “I will fight for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for you and for your families across our country,” Hillary told a Las Vegas audience. This includes not only the parents of so-called DREAMers but also illegal aliens who had already been deported but still have relatives here.

“I want to do everything we can to defend the president’s executive orders [on immigration] because I think they were certainly within his authority constitutionally,” she added. “Legally, they were based on precedent that I certainly believe is adequate. And then still try to go further and deal with some of these other issues like the reunification of families that were here and have been split up since the last eight, 10, 12 years.”

But even the Obama administration won’t say whether her idea is legal. “There may be a legal explanation [for her promises] that they have that you should ask them about,” stammered White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

So how will Republicans respond? It goes without saying that accusing Hillary of flip-flopping won’t get them very far, as Democrats are only held responsible for what they’re saying at precisely a given moment, subject to change depending on the audience. Moreover, being against unfettered immigration is now equated with racism, and Beltway Republicans run from that comparison like a squirrel from a dog. But the primary hurdle for Republicans is that they’re flip-flopping themselves.

In short, Republicans have no idea how to address the issue in a consistent, principled and conservative way.

But there is a sizable contingent of voters that is sick of mere talk about securing the border first; tired of the federal government standing in the way of states seeking to enforce their own immigration laws; worried about the direction of our nation; and disgusted by the unwillingness of this generation of immigrants to even attempt to assimilate. Yet the Chamber of Commerce and other amnesty proponents continue to move the needle. Competing forces remain in a tug-of-war for the Republican Party, paralyzing it and allowing Democrats to control the narrative.

Unfortunately, while Republicans dither on their response, the federal government is working overtime to bring in more potential “citizens.” By the time Hillary takes office in 2017, it won’t make any difference who she lets in anymore. And what she said in 2003 will be ancient history.