Bush: No citizenship path for illegal immigrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush writes in a new book that the nation needs to completely overhaul its immigration policies but cautions against providing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a position that puts him at odds with some Senate reformers within his own party.

In "Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution," Bush writes that the immigration debate holds serious consequences for the nation and members of his Republican party, calling fellow Republicans "remarkably tone-deaf when it comes to courting Hispanic voters — to the extent they court them at all." If the GOP fails to change, he says the influence of Hispanic voters "will doom" the party's future.

The son and brother of U.S. presidents writes that lawmakers should create a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants who live in the U.S. and agree to plead guilty to a crime of illegal entry. But unlike a bipartisan Senate proposal pushed by fellow Florida Republican Marco Rubio and others, Bush says tougher border security should not be a prerequisite and a pathway to legal status should not include citizenship for those who entered illegally as adults.

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