ROMNEY TO LATINOS: OBAMA 'TAKING YOUR VOTE FOR GRANTED'

◼ President Barack Obama has taken the Hispanic vote for granted, according to Mitt Romney in a much-anticipated speech to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) in Florida on Thursday. - Tony Lee/Breitbart

“He’s taking your vote for granted,” Romney said of Obama. “I’ve come here today with a simple message: You do have an alternative. Your vote should be respected.”

Romney was referring to Obama’s inaction on immigration even though Democrats were in the majority in the House and Senate when he became president.

Romney said Obama, because he cannot sell his economic policies that have left more Latinos (11% as opposed to 8%) unemployed than the general population, will simply tell Hispanics that “things could be worse” and “imply that you really don’t have an alternative.”

Romney’s remarks were eagerly anticipated in light of Obama’s announcement last Friday that his administration would take actions to not deport illegal immigrants under 30 years of age who came to the country as children and even give some work visas. Critics responded that Obama was circumventing the legislative process and the will of the American people by implementing immigration policy by fiat.

If he became president, Romney claimed, he would “put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the President's temporary measure,” but left out specifics. Romney did offer some specific measure he would take to strengthen legal immigration, such as reallocating Green Cards to those seeking to keep their families under one roof, exempting “from caps the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents,” proverbially stapling a green card to immigrants who get advanced degrees, and allowing for a “a path to legal status for anyone who is willing to stand up and defend this great nation through military service.”