What would happen if, instead of becoming Republican “values voters,” a growing number of immigrants instead embraced secular racial victim group politics? We’ll soon find out, if we haven’t already. 

The results of a new Pew Research poll tell a tale that should further sober the pro-amnesty Republicans. Nonreligious Hispanics -those who have no religious affiliation, are atheist, or agnostic- is growing. The Pew poll shows that nonreligious Hispanics now outnumber born again and evangelical Protestants combined.

One NPR reporter drives the point home, saying, “almost 1 in 5 Hispanics now says he has no religious affiliation, more than the approximately 1 in 6 who identifies as Republican.”

No one with an elementary understanding of demographic trends, social facts, or polling data (a category that evidently precludes pro-amnesty Republicans) really expects Hispanics to be conservative values voters.

The 2012 exit polls showed that two-thirds of Hispanics say abortion should be legal in “most or all cases.” 59% of Hispanics said gay marriage should be legal in their state. Adding to the pressure for Hispanics to continually surge leftward is their high out-of-wedlock birth rate, which is 53% (versus 29% for whites and 72% for blacks).

Heather McDonald of the Manhattan Institute has been pointing to the countless indicators of Hispanic liberalism for a decade. Using facts and data, she, David Frum, Mickey Kaus, Victor Davis Hanson, the late Samuel Huntington and many others have shown again and again that Hispanics are a virtual lock as a Democrat constituency. Nonetheless, beltway conservatives like Charles Krauthammer say Hispanics “should be a natural Republican constituency—striving immigrant community, religious, Catholic, family-oriented, and socially conservative (on abortion, for example)….”

So what to make of the new Pew poll? Instead of speculation and wishful thinking about Hispanic viewpoints, we can look at the results of a large professional survey. Polls are not a perfect reflection of what people believe, but polls can be a more accurate indicator than self-serving partisan propaganda.

Establishment Republicans often rationalize their anti-citizen politics by claiming that Hispanics will be values voters. Establishment Republicans make grandiose claims about these issues because they are isolated and pampered elitists who are nowhere near as smart as they think they are. They pal around with other comfortable elitists and have no idea what their lax immigration policies inflict upon the rest of us. Occasionally, the establishment Republican is a well-meaning but ill-informed person like Ralph Reed. At other times, the establishment speaks from a standpoint of aloof paternalism. “We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours, for a variety of reasons, and we’ve got to understand that,” says John McCain.

After lording over a state for so many years as Senator, it may be hard to resist slipping into such a loathsome attitude. Even if stated in a respectful manner, John McCain’s opinion about whom Hispanics should vote for really does not matter.  

Instead of deceiving themselves, and peddling myths to the general public, the establishment should try acknowledging today’s immigrants for what they are: human beings with national loyalties that often lie with a country other than America, who are also frequently poorly-educated, low-income groups. In fact, a significant number believe that the U.S. stole the southwest from Mexico, so they are entitled to entry. Immigrants will likely be taught, if they attend public schools, that the number one lesson of American history is white guilt. At best, today’s immigrants enter an increasingly secular society where assimilation is decimated, where minority group membership carries tangible benefits from the state, and racial resentment (“Critical Race Theory”) is taught with messianic zeal.

As such, many of today’s immigrants will have powerful incentives to shun a party that will always be seen as too Christian, too white, too capitalist, and just too patriotic. This is a bleak picture of modern immigration, but life sometimes presents us with bleak pictures. We can either deceive ourselves or face what is in front of us. Establishment Republicans choose to revel in comforting myths, like the myth of the immigrant values voter, and that’s why the GOP establishment is a liability.

John Bennett is a writer whose work has appeared in The Daily Caller, Townhall.com, World Net Daily, Human Events, Liberty Unyielding, Accuracy in Media, and FrontPage Magazine, among others.  He has appeared as a featured guest on the Laura Ingraham, Jerry Doyle, and Lars Larson programs.  Follow @Jthomasbennett