Clinton Calls Out Jeb Bush For Immigration Stances

Clinton: Jeb Bush “Doesn't Believe In A Path To Citizenship” For Undocumented Immigrants. In a July 7 interview with CNN, Clinton criticized Bush for supporting an immigration plan that does not provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the United States, saying, “He doesn't believe in a path to citizenship. If he did at one time, he no longer does,” going on to describe the GOP field:

CLINTON: [A]s I said, they're on a spectrum of, you know, hostility, which I think is really regrettable in a nation of immigrants like ours, all the way to kind of grudging acceptance but refusal to go with a pathway to citizenship.

I think that's a mistake. I think that we know we're not going to deport 11 or 12 million people. We shouldn't be breaking up families. We shouldn't be stopping people from having the opportunity to be fully integrated legally within our country. It's good for us. It's good economically. It's good for the taxes that will be legally collected. It's good for the children, so that they can go as far as their hard work and talent will take them.

So I am 100 percent behind comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship. [CNN, The Situation Room, 7/8/15]

Media Defend Bush From Criticism By Pointing To His Marriage

CNN's Jake Tapper Cites Bush's Marriage To Defend Him From Clinton's Criticism. Immediately following Clinton's interview, Tapper claimed Clinton may be “overplay[ing] her hand” by criticizing Bush because he's “married to a Mexican immigrant”: 

TAPPER: To point out the obvious, Jeb Bush is married to a Mexican immigrant. I doubt he would describe his relationship with his wife as ranging from hostility to grudging acceptance. It's possible that this play she's making for Latino voters can work, absolutely, but she should certainly not overplay her hand, I think. [CNN, The Lead With Jake Tapper, 7/7/15]

CNN's Chris Cuomo Asked How Bush Can Be “Lumped In With The Rest Of The GOP When He's Married To A Mexican-American.” On the July 8 edition of CNN's New Day, host Chris Cuomo challenged Clinton's remarks about Bush and the GOP field by pointing to Bush's marriage:

HABERMAN: She's using that issue to sort-of appeal to Hispanics. She is using that issue to grab on to Donald Trump's inflammatory comments and paint the entire Republican field with it. I was really struck by what she said about Jeb Bush, if he once supported --

CUOMO: Was she fair to Bush?

HABERMAN: She's accurate. I mean, he has been, sort of, you know, back and forth on this.

CUOMO: But to say that he is lumped in with the rest of the GOP when he's married to a Mexican-American. [CNN, New Day, 7/8/15]

Fox's Megyn Kelly: Bush Is “Married To A Mexican Immigrant” So “How Do You Say He Is Hostile” Towards Immigrants? On the July 7 edition of Fox News' The Kelly File, host Megyn Kelly responded directly to Clinton's remarks by pointing to his marriage:

KELLY: Ok, now the problem for her on that ... is Jeb Bush, who is considered to be the favorite by many polls, is married to a woman who is from Mexico. He has children who are half-Mexican. He -- Hostile towards immigrants? How's that going to fly?

[...]

KELLY: He is married to a Mexican immigrant. How do you say he is hostile? [Fox News, The Kelly File, 7/7/15]

Fox's Doocy: “How Is [Bush] Hostile Toward Immigrants? His Wife Is From Mexico.” On the July 8 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, host Steve Doocy defended Bush from Clinton's criticism by pointing out that his wife is from Mexico:

DOOCY: I don't quite understand what Mrs. Clinton is talking about. When you look at Jeb Bush, how is he hostile toward immigrants? His wife is from Mexico.

HASSELBECK: Right? She is.

DOOCY: Hello? [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 7/8/15]

But Clinton Was Right -- Bush Now Opposes A Path To Citizenship

WSJ: Bush Opposes Path To Citizenship. Jeb Bush does not support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, as The Wall Street Journal explained:

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, facing opposition from some conservatives who say he supports amnesty, says undocumented workers should be able to earn legal status, “not necessarily citizenship.”

[...]

“The plan, in our book and the plan that I've suggested when I go out and speak, which is almost every day on the subject, I'm talking about a path to legalized status,” Mr. Bush says in the interview.

Mr. Bush said in his book “Immigration Wars” that illegal immigrants weren't entitled to citizenship, but he has said he could support a law that included that provision in interviews before the book was published in 2013 and as recently as March. [The Wall Street Journal, 5/11/15]