Mike Coffman’s district has become more moderate in redistricting. GOP pol backs youth citizenship path

A Colorado Republican congressman who only a year ago supported an end to birthright citizenship now backs a pathway to citizenship for young illegal immigrants.

Rep. Mike Coffman told a town hall crowd in Aurora, Colo., on Sunday of his position change, according to the Denver Post. While Coffman said he supports a pathway to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, he wasn’t as sure about allowing adult illegal immigrants to become citizens.


“I haven’t resolved the question about a pathway to citizenship for (adults) who’ve overstayed their visa or crossed the border illegally,” Coffman said.

A Coffman spokesman confirmed the position change in the story to POLITICO.

While the Republican party is reevaluating its position on an immigration overhaul en masse in the wake of a 2012 election cycle that saw their presidential cycle candidate garner less than 30 percent of the Hispanic vote, Coffman’s reversal stands out.

Coffman won his U.S. House seat in 2008, replacing Tom Tancredo, who became nationally known for his strident positions against illegal immigration. In the last Congress, Coffman co-sponsored a bill to end birthright citizenship.

But Coffman’s district became more moderate in redistricting, and the Hispanic vote continues to grow in Colorado. After getting two-thirds of the vote in 2010, Coffman defeated his 2012 opponent by fewer than 7,000 votes. President Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney in the district.

Coffman, a veteran of both the Army and the Marine Corps, introduced legislation in late January granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the Untied States as children if they signed up for five-year stints in the military and were honorably discharged.

This article tagged under: Immigration

Mike Coffman

Citizenship