House Republicans have demographic death wish? Our view

The Editorial Board | USA TODAY

House Republicans are meeting next week to discuss immigration, and they've got plenty of reason for concern. The American electorate is rapidly growing more secular, more diverse and more populated with single parents — shifts that bode ill for GOP candidates, particularly those with national aspirations.

There is, however, one obvious place where the party can turn: immigrant voters. These voters are more religious, and more likely to hold conservative views on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, than the electorate as a whole. They are highly entrepreneurial. And their numbers are growing.

So far, however, many in the GOP have been unwilling to embrace them. Witness the strident rhetoric about self-deportation and sanctuary cities, the overreaching and constitutionally suspect state immigration laws, and the recent House vote to resume deportations of undocumented workers brought here as children. All suggest a party with a demographic death wish.

And all are but a prelude to immigration reform. Last week, the Senate passed a comprehensive, bipartisan measure to fix the nation's broken immigration system. It would provide an arduous path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented workers, beef up border security and overhaul the legal immigration process. It is similar to what former president George W. Bush championed and what some leading Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio, are urging.

But House Republicans are balking. On Sunday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said his caucus can't abide any path to citizenship. Others are even less charitable.

If those folks had a nickname, it would be the me delegation. Many of them fear a primary challenge from someone even more extreme. According to The Wall Street Journal, only 16% come from districts where Latinos represent 20% or more of the population. And only about 12% are expected to face a serious Democratic opponent.

To the extent that they do think beyond their heavily gerrymandered districts, the reality they see is warped. They worry not that they are getting clobbered by immigrant voters in national and statewide races, but that the "11 million undocumented Democrats" would, as citizens, vote the GOP into oblivion.

Actually, those 11 million would translate to perhaps 5 million voters — starting in 2026. If Republicans can't improve their lot with immigrants by then, the GOP will cease to be competitive in a nation that benefits from having two vibrant parties.

At least 10 million new voters, and perhaps many more, will be created independent of immigration reform as legal residents naturalize and as children come of age. Just among Latinos, about 50,000 kids born in the USA turn 18 each month.

Last year, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney managed to get only 27% of Latino votes in a weak economy. Future GOP candidates who can't dramatically increase these numbers won't become future presidents or senators.

The immigration bill should not be seen as some bitter pill Republicans must swallow. Nor is it a silver bullet that will instantly solve all their problems. Rather, it should be seen as a first step in a needed evolution.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.