GOP likes this group of illegals

In his newest column for
MLive, Ken Braun points out some of the myths about immigrants (they actually
have a stronger work ethic than native-born Americans) and he explains that
conservative Republicans who bash illegals hypocritically cater to one group of
undocumented workers: the Cubans.

Braun, a conservative who
leans libertarian, notes that Cubans are the one bloc among Hispanic voters who
favor the GOP. Since the early days of Fidel Castro’s revolution, Cuban exiles
who came to America have been solidly Republican and staunchly anti-communist.

The newest generations of
Cuban-Americans — born here and in many cases knowing little about Castro — are
decidedly less Republican than their parents. But they also don’t vote in big
numbers, unlike their elders who escaped communist Cuba.

Here’s how Braun contrasts
the two GOP views of illegal immigration — at the southwest border vs. in the
all-important state of Florida:

“Florida’s different: Cuban exiles have mostly not been
expected to ‘fix their own cess pool.’ We endorse their ‘illegal’ immigration.
An otherwise illegal ‘border violation’
is retroactively legitimized if a Cuban exile is lucky and/or clever enough to
sneak past our perimeter security and plant their feet on U.S. soil. But we
don’t let them in if caught at sea.

“Though they both often arrive
the same way, and work their tails off every bit as much, Cuban ‘illegals’ are
treated much differently than other Hispanics — particularly by conservatives.
It shows at the polls.”