During the undercard presidential debate on Wednesday, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham got into a heated debate about immigration.
Graham noted that George W. Bush won the presidency by supporting comprehensive immigration reform and doing well with Hispanic voters. Santorum replied that Republicans need to win the presidency by “fighting for Americans.”
“In my world, Hispanics are Americans,” he said twice, repeating himself when Santorum spoke over him.
Graham has previously called out members of his own party for their extreme stances on immigration. Earlier this year, he warned in an interview that if his party continues to embrace the anti-immigration reform strategies articulated by 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, they will again lose in the 2016 presidential campaign. Graham supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and has slammed some of his fellow candidates whose want to curtail even legal immigration.
While some other 2016 Republican prospects have previously embraced comprehensive reform with a path to citizenship, candidates including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker have all backed off of their earlier positions.