GOP promises amnesty in Hispanic SOTU response

Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart

The GOP establishment's idea of building bridges with its base is to tell Spanish-speaking audiences one thing and English-speaking audiences something else.

The Republican Party offered two different responses to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley focused on enforcing immigration laws while Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart used allusions of amnesty to sooth the fears of illegal immigrants "who live in the shadows."

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"We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries," Haley said Tuesday. "I have no doubt that if we act with proper focus, we can protect our borders, our sovereignty and our citizens, all while remaining true to America’s noblest legacies."

Diaz-Balart's speech, translated by the Miami Herald on Tuesday, was noticeably different.

"It's essential that we find a legislative solution to protect our nation, defend our borders, offer a permanent and human[e] solution to those who live in the shadows, respect the rule of law, modernize the visa system and push the economy forward," the Congressman said. "I have no doubt that if we work together, we can achieve this and continue to be faithful to the noblest legacies of the United States."

The newspaper's readers noted the Republican Party's conscious effort to use different rhetoric for each audience.

"The subtle and not-so-subtle differences in the English and Spanish versions of the speech reflect the efforts of the Republican Party to flim-flam the Spanish-speaking community," wrote John Scott on Wednesday.

"When a speech is translated it is supposed to carry the same content and import, but in another language. This one did not, and that is fraudulent," added Sandra Estes.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley

Diaz-Balart's appeal to illegal immigrants in the "shadows" comes just days after California announced that roughly 50 percent of its non-commercial drivers licenses in 2015 went to illegal immigrants.

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A new Department of Motor Vehicles program granted 605,000 new driver’s licenses out of 1.4 million to illegal immigrants.

"This was a major undertaking and never before had the department implemented a program such as this one,” Artemio Armenta, spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles, told the Orange County Register Jan. 8. "We were surprised, but not unprepared."

A local member of the Tea Party Patriots expressed frustration with the program.

"It certainly overloads the system," said Ann Coil, a coordinator for the group, the newspaper reported. "There is concern in this country, and it’s reflected in this election, that there’s more compassion for people who are not citizens than those who are."