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Republican delegates in California met on Sunday to adopt their latest platform at the party’s semi-annual convention. The platform held one controversial difference from previous years.
The section on immigration was re-written to eliminate the words “illegal alien,” with the decision prompted by Donald Trump’s fiery stance on the issue. The party’s Central Valley vice chairman, Marcelino Valdez, drafted the new language in hopes of acceptance from their drafting subcommittee.
Valdez claims the current language may offend a particular group. He states, “My goal in writing this was to be true to our conservative beliefs and upholding of our existing laws, with regards to immigration. The current plank does this; however with a tone that is not well received by immigrants, in particular Hispanics.”
After debating, the new language in the immigration plank was well-received by most of the delegates. It reads:
IMMIGRATION
“America continues to symbolize hope and promise to people from around the world. We believe new immigrants help make our great nation greater still….To ensure our immigration laws are adhered to, we support devoting more resources to border control, and increasing penalties for overstaying visas. We will support implementing a nationwide e-verify system….We will not support a policy that grants amnesty. Amnesty only rewards and encourages law breaking. We believe that once one enters the United States as a legal immigrant and desires to become a citizen, one should endeavor to become an American.”
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