Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/1/'06
Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/1/'06
4/1/'06 - The following article(s) were found in the media. Several stories are provided ... with links to the original sources ... for your convenience:
- Winders: Immigrants owed solutions, not slogans (Athens Online)
Both parties look for political bounce from legislative session (Gwinett Daily Post)- With the legislative session over, campaigning in Georgia begins (AP / Macon Telegraph)
- Legislators frowned on GSC forum (Gainesvilletimes)
- Legislative session ends with last-minute compromise (Clayton News Daily)
- Senator's home area falls within lines of immigration coverage (AJC)
- Ariz. at the center of immigration debate (AP)
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http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/040206/opinion_20060402063.shtml
Winders: Immigrants owed solutions, not slogans
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Executive Editor more Winders columns |
OK, I'm signing you up right now.
Not everyone, mind you. I'm just recruiting those out there who seem to think the solution to our immigration struggles can be summed up in the slogan, "Send them all home."
Now I'll buy that option on one condition. Come Monday, I want to see applications for the following jobs from each member of the "send them all home" crowd I heard from last week.
Let's see, we'll have 4,000 or so openings at the chicken plants, just as many or more for construction crews and maybe an additional 2,000 or so for every mop-and-bucket job Americans think they've outgrown. And that's just for Northeast Georgia.
Multiply that a thousand-fold and you start to get an idea of the scope of our problem. The Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, estimates 350,000 illegal immigrants lived in Georgia in 2004. Nationwide, the number of illegals hovers around 11 million or 12 million. Of those, more than 7 million of those are illegally employed.Find 7 million people too difficult to get your hands around? Think of that number as 5 percent of the nation's work force.
We cannot simply "send them all home."
But maybe we should. Maybe that would be just the opportunity some of you out there need to put your money where your mouth is. Of course, many find putting their money where their mouth is a crowded task when they already have a foot planted firmly in there.
Yes, nothing quite like passing off an immigration debate as an excuse to spew some of the most hate-filled words I've heard around here in some time.
We're not just talking about the Ted Nugents among us from whom I expect bumper sticker-like wisdom. No, I'm hearing this from people who once held my respect.
That troubles me.
Listen, "send them all home" makes for a heck of a slogan. What's nicer, it doesn't really commit you to anything.
Just like all those armchair patriots who push the Iraq war, but have nothing invested beyond $2.99 for a "Support the Troops" magnet on the back of their SUV. When you have zero investment, it's simple to side with a knee-jerk slogan.
And "send them all home" makes for a good one. But face it, nobody is getting sent home. Even the political opportunists who subtly - and not so subtly - offer up the deportation option know this.
State legislatures including our own have been passing well-intentioned, but far-too-simplistic measures to address their localized problems. Nice for the short-run, but federal leadership is needed for any long-term immigration solution.
And it's been slow to arrive. I mean the embarrassing federal response time on Hurricane Katrina clocked in at a few days; we're a few decades too late on immigration.
Thanks to years of ignoring the problem, we cannot send these folks home. Why? Well, many of them already are home. We allowed industry to develop and grow on an illegal business plan. Now we need these folks to keep everything afloat.
We created this chaos ourselves by propagating a say-one-thing-do-another policy on immigration.
Don't get me wrong, it still upsets me as a Rules Guy. So don't expect my heart to bleed for anyone who looks for an easy way around the rules. As crappy as those rules might be, they are the rules right now. But sometimes, there's something larger than rules.
Do you know why people sneak into this country? Because somewhere out there, there are people who don't look to the American Dream as a campy, tired chamber of commerce catch phrase. No, many believe it to be a promise of a better life worth risking their life over.
We heard those stories time and time again during a vigil last week at the Catholic Center at the University of Georgia, sponsored by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Real immigrants. Real stories.
Sadly, when they arrive, we tell them the Dream has been outsourced to India and their consolation prize consists of a hairnet. But many still think the trip is worth it.
You would think we owe those who risk so much far more than simple slogans. We must offer them real solutions on how they can pursue - and pursue legally - their own American Dream.
• Jason Winders is executive editor of the Athens Banner-Herald. He can be contacted at jason.winders@onlineathens.com.
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 040206
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http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=36&url_article_id=13482&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2
Both parties look for political bounce from legislative session
04/02/2006
By Dave Williams
ATLANTA
Republicans in the General Assembly did what they said they were going to do during the session that ended last week.
And they did it on a short list of issues that have polled well with Georgia voters.
That promises to be a tough combination for Democrats to overcome at the polls this fall, as the minority party looks to take back the House and/or Senate after two years of complete GOP control.
Getting tough with sex offenders, curbing illegal immigration and reining in local governments' eminent domain powers are popular causes with most voters.
Beyond that, this election year also found the state's economic recovery far enough along that Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue and GOP legislative leaders could afford to be generous with the budget.
"A better economic situation always works to the benefit of incumbents,'' said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock.
Specifically, the governor earmarked 4 percent raises for Georgia teachers, the largest they've had since Perdue took office in 2003.
The $18.65 billion budget the governor recommended and lawmakers approved last week also contains money to let every teacher in the state have a $100 gift card to buy school supplies and funds a resumption of class size reductions begun by former Gov. Roy Barnes.
All of which could help Perdue hold onto many of those votes he captured four years ago from teachers who were disgruntled with Democrat Barnes for paltry raises and his attempts to do away with tenure.
To those goodies, you can add the bills Republicans pushed through the legislature this year that appeal to religious conservatives.
That list includes bills authorizing cities and counties to display the Ten
Commandments in their courthouses, redefining an unborn child for purposes of the state's feticide law as an embryo or fetus at any stage of development and instructing the state Department of Education to offer elective courses on the Bible.
"They've done a variety of things that will please various segments of voters,'' Bullock said.
Where does that leave Democrats?
For one thing, Democratic candidates taking to the campaign trail this fall will be armed with a "me, too'' strategy.
Indeed, the Bible classes bill was introduced into the General Assembly this year by Democrats before being picked up by Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, himself a longtime advocate of teaching the Bible in public schools.
Democrats also pushed their own version of Perdue's "faith-based'' constitutional amendment this year, which would allow religious groups to use state money to deliver social services.
The Democratic proposal included language specifically prohibiting the amendment from being used to bring private school vouchers to Georgia.
For the third year in a row, Democrats blocked Perdue's initiative because it doesn't contain such a provision.
As for the governor's outreach to teachers and other portions of his education agenda, Democrats plan to argue that Perdue has had an election-year conversion.
"We were for small classroom sizes. ... That was a Democratic issue,'' said House Minority Leader DuBose Porter, D-Dublin. "Because of our priorities as Democrats, they finally did something with class sizes.''
Porter advances a similar argument with the HOPE Scholarship program.
As with Perdue's faith-based initiative, Democrats blocked a constitutional amendment backed by the governor this year that would have prohibited spending revenue the state receives from the Georgia Lottery on anything but HOPE scholarships and the state's pre-kindergarten program.
Three years ago, financial projections began to show HOPE could be headed for trouble as demand for scholarships was growing faster than lottery revenues. But the threat hasn't materialized.
Porter charged that Perdue was only trying to put a HOPE amendment on the ballot this fall to cover up for his past treatment of the program.
The governor took a lot of heat during the same time when HOPE revenues were looking shaky when he unsuccessfully pushed a plan to link HOPE eligibility to SAT scores.
Republicans have made it clear that they intend to remind voters this fall that the Democrats blocked Perdue's plan to protect HOPE Scholarships, one of the most popular programs in Georgia history.
But Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown, D-Macon, said it won't work.
"If Republicans are able to stick that on us as Democrats, who created the HOPE Scholarship and fought for the lottery, then we deserve to be beat,'' he said.
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http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/14247354.htm
SHANNON McCAFFREY
Associated Press
ATLANTA - And they're off.
With the book closed on the 2006 legislative session, campaign season now kicks into high gear.
Cash-starved candidates will be hitting the fundraising circuit hard and fast to make up for lost time. Elected officials were barred from accepting contributions for the last three months while the Legislature was in session.
But with work complete under the Gold Dome the floodgates are open again.
The stakes are highest for the Democratic nominees for governor - Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor. The two are set to face off in a primary in less than four months. They face a steep challenge to catch Gov. Sonny Perdue, who had $8.5 million in the bank as of his last campaign filing and is not expected to face any serious competition from within the GOP.
Taylor and Cox combined have less money on hand than Perdue. According to their most recent filings, Cox has $3.1 million and Taylor has $4.5 million.
Perdue will also be helped along by a wave of free media as he spends the coming weeks signing bills, some of them allowing him to tout his work on top election issues, like education.
But Perdue will also have to take a stance on some tough issues with the potential to alienate some voting blocs. By signing the sweeping immigration bill he is likely to upset Hispanic voters, although it could also galvanize his conservative base. Another bill, which recalculates the way child support is determined, might not sit well with some women.
"The governor is a tenacious campaigner and we're looking forward to telling Georgians about what he's accomplished," Perdue spokesman Nick Ayers said.
University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said the Republican governor "is in an enviable position."
The lack of a primary opponent allows him to position himself "in the middle of the road where a lot of voters are," Bullock said. A primary would force him to appeal to the GOP's more conservative base.
Cox and Taylor, meanwhile, will be tempted to move to the left to pocket the support of primary voters and then tack back to the center again for the general election.
"It's a tricky two-step," Bullock said,
Both Cox and Taylor will unveil details from their campaign platforms in the coming weeks, aides said. Both are also expected to hit the phones and a merry-go-round of fundraisers to stock their war chests.
In the race for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Casey Cagle will be scrambling. Cagle's GOP opponent - former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed - does not hold elected office so he has been able to raise money for the last three months, while Cagle has not.
"We're definitely under some pressure to catch up," Cagle spokesman Brad Alexander said.
Whether Reed has been able to capitalize on the fundraising window is unknown. His latest campaign filings are expected to be available this week. The flow of money into his campaign showed signs of slowing amid concerns over his association with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who entered a guilty plea to fraud charges earlier this year.
The would-be Democratic candidates for the state's No. 2 spot - Greg Hecht and Jim Martin - are also former state lawmakers and have been free to raise campaign money during the session.
Most of the state's 236 lawmakers in the Senate and the House are also seeking re-election and are relieved to be heading back to their districts to spend time with voters.
Indeed, much of the work this session appears to have been about setting up lawmakers from each party with issues to run on this fall.
"This has been campaign season," state Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson joked.
A case in point is a HOPE scholarship proposal pushed by Perdue and defeated by Democrats. Democrats will paint the vote as a defeat of a GOP plan that failed to protect HOPE from future cuts, while Republicans are expected to cast it as a vote against the popular scholarship program.
"This was a defining session that will help give Georgians a clear choice as we go into this summer and this fall's election," House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter of Dublin said.
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http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20060401/localnews/82363.shtml
Legislators frowned on GSC forum
Immigration discussion nearly cost college its state funding
By HARRIS BLACKWOOD
The Times
 Martha Nesbitt |
A forum on immigration issues at Gainesville State College did not sit well with some members of the legislature and nearly cost the college a $5 million addition to its student center.
State Rep. James Mills, R-Chestnut Mountain, said that budget writers considered redirecting the funds earmarked for the college.
"(The funds) were in jeopardy," Mills said. "It was the culmination of a number of things, but (the forum) was the straw that broke the camel's back with some of our appropriations leadership."
Mills said the legislature's displeasure extended to other colleges as well, but he did not identify which colleges.
"The idea was out there that the money would be reprioritized if some of the units of the University System did not become more mainline in some of the things they were doing," he said.
Mills said that he was confronted because of some "liberal actions" at the college and had to work to get the money back.
Gainesville State College President Martha Nesbitt did not know of the appropriations committee's concern until asked for a comment on Friday.
"I haven't heard from any of our legislators," Nesbitt said.
"This was a public forum in which the college doesn't take a stand, one way or the other," she said. "What we are trying to do is facilitate people coming together to discuss varying views. I am certainly disappointed that legislators would look on that as a reason not to give students a building they need on our campus."
The forum, which took place on March 6, was an often tense debate between a state senator and an attorney for a Mexican defense group.
Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, was the author of the immigration bill that passed the legislature this week.
Rogers' bill would penalize employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and tighten restrictions on state services provided to persons living in the state illegally. The bill would also make it a crime for persons who trade or broker illegal immigrants.
The bill awaits the signature of Gov. Sonny Perdue, who has not said whether he will sign the bill.
Tisha Tallman, regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, contended that Congress should address immigration and that a similar law in California was found unconstitutional.
Tana Harris-Boffelmann, a college instructor and faculty sponsor of the group that sponsored the forum was stunned by the news of the funding threat.
"That is unbelievable," Harris-Boffelmann said. "We do live in a democracy, don't we?"
She said that the organization, Students for a Progressive Society, does not take partisan positions on issues. "We had a very balanced panel taking on a very difficult issue."
Nesbitt said that the college had been working on the student center expansion for four years.
"It's unfortunate that there would be any kind of sign that we should not explore ideas in a civil discourse on college campuses," Nesbitt said.
The funds were included in the final version of the budget passed by both the House and Senate Thursday night. The $18.6 billion spending plan now awaits the signature of Perdue.
Contact: hblackwood@gainesvilletimes.com (770)718-3423
Originally published Saturday, April 1, 2006------------------------------------------
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/wooten/040206.html
GOP control brings ripple, not sea change
Published on: 04/02/06
After 134 years of Democratic rule, Republicans have now owned the Gold Dome for a full legislative term.
What's the difference? Not what conservatives hoped or liberals feared.
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The Republican Party is the Democratic Party of Joe Frank Harris as it existed 25 years ago, before the Voting Rights Act drove it leftward and out of office.
By my reading, the change in party control amounts to a 15 percent difference. That is, about 15 percent of the legislation Republicans consider — most dealing with issues important to social conservatives, such as those related to guns or abortion — wouldn't have seen the light of day under Democrats.
And, conversely, about 15 percent of the bills Democrats might have passed, such as the anti-business Fair Share Health Care Act introduced this session requiring Wal-Mart to spend at least 8 percent of payroll on medical benefits, have no chance of passing.
On the whole, though, this General Assembly lives up to none of the Republican stereotypes inside-the-Perimeter critics propound.
It's certainly not penny-pinching, nor even particularly ideological.
Major legislation approved this session — eminent domain and immigration — and bills that attracted a great deal of attention, such as the effort to develop new child support guidelines for divorcing parents, reveal two things. One is a party with a limited, and not particularly conservative, agenda. No bizarre, and likewise no bold, cutting-edge legislation came out. The bills that did reflected a remarkable degree of refinement and compromise.
The Republican Party stereotyped and caricatured by liberal activist groups, partisans and inside-the-Perimeter critics in an attempt to portray them as extremists is a party that never materialized.
Legislators such as state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), who sponsored the immigration bill, and state Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), who initiated the child support formula debate, agreed to any number of compromises in an effort to find consensus. The same process, starting long before it was even introduced, occurred on eminent domain.
Nothing radical here. Not radical, nor even particularly noteworthy. If some Georgians feared the new regime, they needn't have worried.
When Democrats were the only game in town, competition came in two forms. One was among personalities and factions within the party. The other was between the House and the Senate. The clashes between House Speaker Tom Murphy and Lt. Gov. Zell Miller, most often occurring in a session's closing days, were sharp and emotional.
That same reality exists now. House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) believes he made a rookie mistake in agreeing to the creation of a separate Senate budget office.
In the past, the House had the budget advantage because it originates there and because the budget officer's first loyalty was to that body. He and Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) clashed in the final days over the budget just as sharply, publicly and emotionally as the two leading Democrats once did.
The Republican Party under the Dome, like Harris' Democratic Party, has no distinctive ideology. It's mainstream conservative tilting right, but the bulk of the bills being passed reflect the pent-up energies of victors who are still marveling that they can push buttons, tinker with controls and churn out bills that bear their name. It's a novelty.
Gov. Sonny Perdue, in a letter to legislators days before the session concluded, reminded them that "the voters did not entrust us with leadership of this state because they thought we would do a better job of delivering projects and special programs for special interests. They trusted us to do a better job of delivering on our principles, upholding Georgia values and being good stewards of the people's resources."
He's right, of course.
With the session over and qualifying opening within the month, it's pretty clear with party-switchers and retirements that Republicans will control the General Assembly for years to come.
After their first term at the helm, Georgians begin to see their future: a party that's not in the least what liberals feared or fiscal conservatives hoped.
• Jim Wooten is associate editorial page editor. His column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
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http://www.news-daily.com/local/local_story_090202409.html?keyword=topstory
Published: March 31, 2006 08:24 pm
Legislative session ends with last-minute compromise
By Justin Boron...
Immigration bill awaits governor's signature
A sweeping bill that would deny some state services to adults living in the U.S. illegally and what would be some of the nation's toughest immigration rules has been sent to the governor.
The move, which passed by a 119-49 House vote, came after the state's labor chief warned that the compromise brokered between House and Senate lawmakers may create a sort of amnesty for some undocumented workers.
The bill would verify that adults seeking many state-administered benefits — like non-emergency medical care and unemployment checks — are in the country legally. It would also sanction employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, punishing them through the tax code.
In the compromise, lawmakers dropped a section that would have tacked on a 5 percent fee to wire transfers by people who could not prove they were in the country legally. Instead, they added a requirement that 6 percent of wages should be withheld from workers who can't provide a taxpayer identification number.
The proposal was approved by the Senate Monday and has been sent to Gov. Perdue, who isn't saying yet whether he will sign a sweeping immigration bill.
Critics warned Tuesday that late changes to the bill could have grave unintended consequences.
When lawmakers stripped the bill of its requirement to verify the immigration status of current workers at companies with taxpayer contracts, they effectively granted state amnesty to undocumented workers who might now be employed, said Michael Thurmond, the state's labor commissioner.
Under the bill that passed Tuesday, only new hires would be checked using the federal verification system — not current employees.
That portion of the law would not take effect until July 2007, leaving time for many new immigrants to get on the payroll before the tough new checks take effect, Thurmond said.
"We should work to protect employers who play by the rules," he said. "That's my concern — to create a level playing field."
State Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, said that the federal program being used to check immigration status could only be used on new hires.
"If he (Thurmond) believes this is allowing amnesty I would encourage him to begin auditing employers and enforce the law," Rogers said.
...
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Rare News Sweep Commentary: Mundo Hispanico is a wholy owned subsidiary of the Atlanta Journal Constitution ... a fact which is indeed noted at the end of the story. It should be of interest that the owner of the paper in question is providing a story which could be interpreted as a defense of its subsidiaries behavior.
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http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/tuck/stories/040106.html
Senator's home area falls within lines of immigration coverage
Published on: 04/01/06
Talk about hitting close to home.
I can't say that I blame state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) for his anger upon learning that a picture of his house and a map of his area appeared in Mundo Hispánico, a Spanish-language weekly owned by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But the resulting controversy is an example of how cultural and language differences can lead to misunderstanding and false reports.
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Rogers is the author of Senate Bill 529, Georgia lawmakers' sweeping attempt at addressing illegal immigration. The bill won final approval Tuesday and is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Rogers and Sen. Sam Zamarripa (D-Atlanta) criticized the newspaper's decision to include Rogers' personal information, saying it could be used by extremists to target Rogers. In actuality, other than the photograph of Rogers' home, no personal information was disclosed in the article, which was about the cultural and economic changes in Rogers' district.
When discussing the story package, editors didn't think of it in terms of outing where Rogers lives, said Lino Dominguez, the newspaper's publisher. They believe it was important to give readers a look at the area Rogers represents and to show that Hispanics are a part of that district, he said. The story included quotes from businesspeople in the area about the possible impact of Rogers' legislation.
"The map was simply an illustration, there was no [home] address," said Dominguez. "I don't think we crossed any boundaries."
Dominguez, a native of Panama who has lived in Georgia for 30 years, said he's heard from friends that talk radio hosts broadcast his home address as well as the address of Mundo editor Juan Arango.
Arango received four threatening telephone calls at his home. He said Rogers and his supporters overreacted without taking time to have the article translated. Some people concluded that Mundo had published Rogers' address, he said.
"People reacted to his reaction," said Arango. A small photograph of the house was shown so readers could see that Rogers lived in an ordinary house, "not a McMansion." Had he known how people would react to it, he probably wouldn't have run the photo, he said.
Rogers told Senate colleagues that the AJC had run a photograph of his house on the front page and that Mundo had run a map and picture. He talked about being the target of name-calling and harassment throughout the debate about the bill. It's true that the AJC ran a partial photograph of Rogers home with a story that highlighted Rogers' neighborhood and Cherokee County as one of five places that have seen significant growth in the Hispanic population.
"The polls show that a great majority of Georgians want to do something about illegal immigration. We wanted to know what was motivating it," said state politics editor Charles Gay.
The package included a photograph of an undocumented worker doing construction on the home of one of Rogers' neighbors. Rogers' house could be seen in the background but we didn't identify it as such because we wanted to protect his privacy.
"[Rogers] has talked a lot about the changes in his area, and he's been the driving force behind this legislation. We wanted to go by his neighborhood and see what he sees every day — workers on his street, Hispanic people working at a golf club he's joined and a wall where workers wait for work that is on the way to his kids' school."
Given that context, I can understand the decision of both papers to highlight Woodstock.
Mundo's mission is to report to the Hispanic community on issues impacting them. The paper, which has published in metro Atlanta since 1979 and was purchased by the AJC two years ago, has a circulation of about 65,000.
Mundo has aggressively covered the immigration legislation, as well as issues such as mortgage fraud. The paper will soon begin an editorial page and is launching Pasos on April 10, a publication aimed at new arrivals.
As Georgians continue to debate illegal immigration, the role Mundo plays in educating and informing Spanish-speaking residents is all the more critical.
• Contact Angela Tuck by e-mail at insideajc@ajc. com, by phone at 404-526-5819, by fax at 404-526-5610 or by writing P.O. Box 4689, Atlanta, Ga. 30302.
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http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/14226049.htm
Ariz. at the center of immigration debate
RON FOURNIER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Arizona's leaders are in a tizzy over immigration, pressured by political crosswinds that reflect the growing national debate over how to control U.S. borders.
Republicans are bashing Republicans. The Democratic governor is in cahoots with a GOP senator. Both parties fear voter backlash.
Bordering Mexico, Arizona may be the perfect spot to show the state of policy and politics of U.S. immigration.
In a word, it's a mess.
"You'll find every view in Arizona," jokes Rep. Jeff Flake, a conservative Republican from Mesa.
In the House, he has backed the approach of the state's most notable politician, GOP Sen. John McCain, who wants to give illegal immigrants a clear path to citizenship through work.
McCain's position puts him on the side of President Bush and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - and many prominent Democrats, including Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and liberal icon Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
Arizona's junior senator, Republican Jon Kyl, also wants to help the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants remain in the United States legally, but his approach would make it harder for them. He wants illegal immigrants to return to their native countries before returning as so-called guest workers.
Then there is another conservative Arizona lawmaker, Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who has written a book that proposes building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, using armed forces to help patrol the region and denying citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.
There is unanimity on one point in Arizona: illegal immigration is a major problem.
The state is the largest gateway for illegal immigrants, accounting for 54 percent of the 1.1 million apprehensions nationwide during the 2004 fiscal year. It is home to an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants out of the state's population of about 6 million, a costly drag on health care, education and law enforcement budgets.
"Arizona has been devastated by this issue," McCain said.
Long considered a federal problem, limited to a few "gateway states" such as California and Arizona, illegal immigration is now a front-burner issue across the country.
Illegal immigrants are moving to states like North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio and Georgia as they seek jobs and establish communities. North Carolina alone had 390,000 illegal immigrants in 2004, nearly 16 times its number in 1990, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis.
Last year, Napolitano and Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico declared immigration emergencies in their border counties. Napolitano recently signed an order to expand the National Guard's presence at Arizona's porous border.
At a news conference this week, Napolitano praised McCain's bill while calling Kyl's approach "a fictional system." She chastised the GOP-led House for passing a bill that focuses solely on border reinforcement rather than also dealing with illegal immigrants already working in the U.S.
"The House bill is a terrible bill for Arizona," she said.
The backbiting didn't stop there.
Hayworth accused fellow Republicans of carrying water for business interests who want the cheap labor provided by guest-worker provisions.
"It's the ultimate corporate welfare scam," he said on the "Imus in the Morning" television and radio program.
Flake, a guest-worker supporter, objected when Hayworth's plan was called conservative. "I don't think it's conservative to ignore the problem," he told The Associated Press. "If you don't have a plan to deal with those here illegally now, that's a huge part of the problem."
The political stakes are huge. Hispanics are the fastest-growing group of voters, and President Bush has helped double the GOP's share of the Hispanic vote since 2000.
McCain said those gains are at risk. "This issue has galvanized the Hispanic population in Arizona," he said, pointing to protests this week in Arizona and several other states against the crackdown on illegal immigration.
"First, this is a warning to my party that we have to be sensitive about this issue," McCain told The AP. "Secondly, the Hispanic community risks a backlash if it become unruly or too many Hispanic flags - and not enough American flags - are at these protests."
"These are sensitive times."
Sensitive, indeed, for McCain and other candidates lining up for 2008 presidential bids. They include Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who staked out a position to the right of McCain, and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who accused House Republicans of passing a bill that would criminalize "even Jesus himself."
Polls show the issue has the potential to divide Democrats as well as Republicans. Many working-class Democrats resent what they consider to be a constant flow of cheap labor. The hard-line House bill was backed by 36 Democrats, including those considered most in danger of losing their seats in November.
Still, the fear is most palpable among GOP leaders. Republican Party chairman Ken Mehlman said his party's challenge is to improve border security "and do it in a way that is pro-immigrant."
"Franklin Roosevelt built a durable Democratic coalition because large groups of American Catholics, Jews and ethnics" who otherwise shared Republicans values "were convinced that the Republican Party did not like them," Mehlman said. "So we have to be careful."
These being sensitive times, Mehlman was speaking on the telephone from Phoenix, where he was meeting with Hispanics.
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Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Suzanne Gamboa and David Espo in Washington contributed to this story.
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Erik Voss
erik@ICAtlanta.org
404-457-5901 Direct
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