Hispanic DREAMers shout down Jeb Bush in Houston until he reminds them that he's on THEIR SIDE: 'We don't need to build a wall! We don't need to deport everybody!'
- 'Who is the real Jeb Bush?' 'One of us?' 'Or one of them?' the hecklers' signs read
- 'One of them' was paired with a photo of Donald Trump low-fiving Jeb during last Wednesday's debate in California
- Bush insisted a Trump-style immigration vision is 'not a practical conservative plan'
- 'A great majority of Republicans believe in immigration reform,' he insisted
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush pushed back against more than a dozen protesters who repeatedly heckled him Monday with chants of 'No hope without our vote' as he tried to address a national Hispanic business group.
The former Florida governor was forced to halt his speech before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Houston to remind those shouting that he supports a pathway to citizenship for children of people in the U.S. illegally, a group often called 'DREAMers.'
'No hope without our vote!' the group chanted as silverware and crystal clinked around them and Bush paused his delivery.
The organization released a statement denouncing the protests, saying Bush has a record of commitment to Hispanics.
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Jeb Bush spoke during the Women In Business and Leadership luncheon at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce National Convention in Houston on Monday – stopping cold when protesters heckled him
Hispanic immigration protesters interrupted Bush's remarks on Monday until he assured them that he was on their side
'No hope without our vote!' the group chanted as silverware and crystal clinked around them and Bush paused his delivery
In his speech, Bush said 'a great majority of Republicans believe in immigration reform' and slammed Trump's immigration plan to build a border wall and deport those here illegally before allowing 'the good ones' to legally return.
'We don't need to build a wall! We don't need to deport everybody in this country [illegally]!' said Bush.
'It's not a practical conservative plan.'
'Coming here legally should be easier than coming here illegally,' said Bush, who added that immigration can boost the U.S. economy.
'DREAMers' take their name from the acronym for legislation that lays out a process to toward citizenship for immigrant children who were brought into the country illegally and grew up in the U.S.
Like other Republican presidential hopefuls, Bush wants to secure the border with Mexico before dealing with millions of people here illegally.
SLAPPING WITH THE ENEMY: The hecklers used an image of Jeb's debate low-five with Donald Trump as evidence that he's 'one of them'
Mary Moreno, communications director of the Texas Organizing Project, which planned Monday's protest, said her group wanted to call attention to 'the hostile atmosphere being created by the GOP field of presidential candidates.'
The demonstrators held large signs, with one asking 'Who is the real Jeb Bush?'
Another read 'One of us?' and was paired alongside one that read 'Or one of them?'
The latter featured a photo of Bush low-fiving Republican front-runner Donald Trump at last Wednesday's GOP debate in California.
Bush, whose wife was born in Mexico, supports the long-delayed DREAM Act, which would allow immigrant children who grew up in the U.S. and are living in the country illegally to eventually gain citizenship.
She also said Republican presidential candidates are seeking to 'militarize the border' at a time when the U.S. border patrol already has thousands of border patrol agents.
'It's all crazy talk,' Moreno said.
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