Also, the premise of this argument that somehow Trump can't lose anymore than Romney did is so flawed. This isn't just about immigration now, it is about common decency and his offensive nature. He has threatened them with deportation - A lot of these people have family and friends who are undocumented, or know people in their community that they don't want deported for no reason other than to please a bunch of white people. On top of this, all this talk about walls and deporting 11 million people is pitting white people against Hispanics because Trump is effectively scapegoating Hispanics for the economic problems of whites. The animosity he is stirring up is going to persist beyond this election and will definitely manifest itself in the daily life of these people.
I'm sorry, but don't be surprised here if he bottoms out around 15% - 18%, or perhaps even lower. The idea that he will maintain Romney numbers is ridiculous. The two are hardly the same and Trump has made scapegoating undocumented immigrants the centerpiece of his campaign, whereas Romney just stuck to a specific policy and made some poor comments from time to time. Trump does this on a regular basis as part of strategy, and with great joy.
You're making the mistake (which many others have made) that immigration is the reason Hispanics won't vote Republican; it's not.
Again, Romney's 27% is near the Republican's average among Hispanics since 1980. That means he did just as well as other Republicans who did not promote self-deportation did. Therefore, even if Romney supported a pathway to citizenship or amnesty from the start, there is no evidence suggesting he would have done better.
John McCain, for example, supported the 2007 bill and made no incendiary remarks about Latinos. Regardless, he got just 31%, hardly better than Romney.
George W. Bush, likewise, supported a pathway to citizenship and conducted outreach towards Latinos; he sometimes spoke Spanish in his speeches. Regardless, he got just 35% of the Latino vote in 2000.
Go further back: Reagan and Bush 41 gave amnesty in 1986, yet Bush 41 got 30% and 25% vote from Latinos -- worse than Romney!
If immigration is the cause of the GOP's performance with Hispanics, as you say, then McCain, Bush 43, and Bush 41 wouldn't have done so poorly.
It's not immigration!!!!
