Immigration Reform News: John Kasich Supports Latina Maids But Not Citizenship

John Kasich supports worker visas for immigrants in the U.S. illegally but does not support a pathway to citizenship, the Republican presidential candidate confirms. Kasich characterizes his position as middle-of-the road GOP , joining candidates like Jeb Bush who oppose the mass-deportation policies of Donald Trump. That and other moderate positions have drawn flak from conservatives, according Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who interviewed Kasich. Here’s the relevant portion of the exchange.

HANNITY: The only two issues I ever hear conservatives critical towards you about, immigration, and the refugee issue, which you and I discussed the last time you were on the program. I want to give you an opportunity to expand on this. Should people who do not respect our law and sovereignty, why should they have a path towards citizenship?

KASICH: I'm for legalization, Sean. I'm not for giving anybody a path to citizenship here.

HANNITY: No citizenship?

KASICH: No, I don't believe in that. But I do believe if they've been law abiding in this country, they can get to legalization. They have to pay a fine and everything else. But the wall has to go up, Sean.

The clarification comes just days after the candidate was criticized for an anecdote in which he praised the service of his Latina maid. Kasich describe Hispanics as “hard working, god-fearing people,” but some said that his comments amounted to stereotyping.

Not to conflate Latinos with immigrants, Kasich is talking about two separate issues: Hispanics and immigrants. But there are many service workers who are Latino and are immigrants themselves, or have live in immigrant households.

We don’t know if Kasich’s maid was in the country legally -- probably neither does he -- but around one quarter of hotel housekeepers ar unauthorized, according to Pew .

Can Kasich be pro-Hispanic and against a pathway to citizenship? Taken together, the legalize-but-not-naturalize position would keep maids’ hands busy in hotel rooms, but also ensure that they don’t touch ballot boxes.

Or, is his position consistent with a respect for legal immigration, regardless of ethnicity? Let us know what you think

"I've always said that Hispanics are such a critical part of the fabric of the United States," kasich said clarifying his comments about the maid on MSNBC . "They occupy jobs from top to bottom.”

You can watch some of the videos mentioned in this article below.

Kasich Clarifies Talks About His Hard-Working Latina Maid

Kasich Clarifies His Position On Immigration

Here’s the rest of the immigration section of the Hannity interview:

Look, Reagan was for letting these folks stay in 1986. Where did they fall down? They didn't enforce the law. We need to finish the wall. And if you come over for any reason, you're going back. I don't want to argue or discuss it with them. You got to go back. But for the ones that are here, I think they can be given a path to legalization. If they broke the law, that's a whole other story.

HANNITY : A path to legalization but no citizenship. Just to be clear [...]

KASICH : Correct. I believe we should go to legalization, but not citizenship. I don't believe in that path.