The Mexican-American Republican Governor from New Mexico, Susana Martinez, has publicly dissed Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
In an interview with Newsweek magazine Martinez said “Self-deport? ‘What the heck does that mean?” Martinez main criticism of Romney’s immigration plan is that he doesn’t have one. She sees ‘self-deportation’ as a simplistic approach to a very complex problem.
Martinez herself has been viewed as having anti-immigrant positions. She has aggressively pushed to repeal a New Mexico law that allows the undocumented to get driver’s licenses. Then there was her “residency verification plan” where Martinez asked 10,000 foreign nationals living in the state to verify their residency.
Now, in the magazine interview, the first Latina governor is promoting ‘guest-worker program for people who want to go freely back and forth’ and a ‘DREAM Act-style pathway to citizenship’ and a ‘visa that allows undocumented to remain in U.S.’ She remains opposed to passing the DREAM Act as a stand alone piece of legislation but rather part of a larger immigration reform initiative.
The Washington Post put this Latina governor as fifth on the list of potential Republican Vice Presidential candidates, however, this interview might of just taken her off the list.
