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Six months before the first votes are counted in the GOP presidential contest, immigration has lodged itself firmly into the national conversation, much to the displeasure of several establishment-Republican candidates.

Only one week ago former Governor Jeb Bush responded bluntly “I’m done,” to reporters’ questions on criticism lobbed his way from fellow 2016 contender Donald Trump, on the issue of immigration.

Undoubtedly Bush thought a response to the billionaire real estate mogul would only fan the flames of an issue that could burn his frontrunner status in the Republican primary.

But faced with Trump’s surging popularity among GOP primary voters in new polls, Bush has reversed course. “Whether it is Donald Trump or Barack Obama, their rhetoric of divisiveness is wrong,” Bush said during a campaign stop in Iowa. “A Republican will never win by striking fear in people’s hearts.”

Of course, this all to the delight of Trump who on the Laura Ingraham Show quipped of Bush “I think he’d just open up the borders and let everybody come in.”

“Mr. Trump has every right to have every belief he has,” Bush continued, “but I don’t want to be associated with the kind of vitriol that he’s spewing out these days.”

Of course, this is all to the delight of Trump, who on the Laura Ingraham Show quipped of Bush: “I think he’d just open up the borders and let everybody come in.”

Trump also likened the former Florida governor and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton to “twins” when it comes to immigration policy.

The “border, it’s a disaster, which I showed and nobody else was willing to show. And, people hate to talk about it, for whatever reason,” Trump continued. “We’re at a point, you know this political correctness stuff has to go, because our country is going to hell and we have to turn it around.”

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Asked for comment on whether Trump was responsible for the issue of immigration being front and center in the 2016 conversation, the Bush campaign sent LifeZette a series of comments the former Florida governor has made recently on immigration.  Among them:

  • “A Republican can win, and will win, if we have an aspirational message that gives people hope that their lives will be better when we apply conservative principles the right way,” Bush said during a campaign stop Tuesday in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
  • In New Hampshire on July 8: “You can love the Mexican culture, you can love your Mexican-American wife and also believe that you need to control the border.”
  • Bush told the Daily Caller on July 2: “His views are not reflective of the immigrant experience. He’s just wrong. … I don’t spend a lot of quality time going over the Trump message.”
  • On June 27 in Nevada: “I think he’s wrong. I don’t agree with him. It’s pretty simple. Maybe we’ll have a chance to have an honest discussion about it on stage.”

Whether Trump’s political ascendency is here to stay or not, there is no doubt that the hot button issue of immigration has been permanently cemented in the conversation of the GOP nominating contest.

By the sheer force of his personality and fearless focus on this issue Trump has changed the debate. It is clear, at least for now, the voters want the candidates to come out of the shadows on immigration.

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