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Governor teeters on border
Schwarzenegger speaks out on immigration, but his recommendations for Congress are nuanced at best and vague at worst
By Michael R. Blood
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES - Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger backed a federal plan to build a stretch of border fence between San Diego and Tijuana. This week, he said walling off hundreds of miles of the California-Mexico border is a strategy from the Stone Age.

It is not the only example of his complex -- and sometimes shifting -- views on illegal immigration, an issue that has given rise to a national movement during his time in office.

California's governor certainly should have a role in the debate over leaky borders and the not-so-invisible illegal labor economy. The state has more illegal immigrants than any other -- an estimated 2.4 million, more than the population of Nebraska.

And Schwarzenegger himself is one of America's most visible immigrants. He often talks of his immigrant history.

But his positions also reflect the state's immigration politics and the popularity-challenged governor's struggle to win a second term; a recent Field Poll found that just 36 percent of voters are inclined to re-elect the governor.

In the 1990s, he supported a ballot proposition to deny illegal immigrants many basic services, including public education and nonemergency health care. Today, Schwarzenegger says the fight over illegal immigration is at the borders, "not in our schools and not in our hospitals."

Recently he stressed the economy needs "a free flow of people" to thrive. He also embraces the Minuteman patrol movement, which warns of a nation "plundered by the menace of tens of millions of invading illegal aliens."

The governor's "schizophrenic view" mirrors divisions among voters and within Schwarzenegger's own party, said independent pollster Mark DiCamillo. One statewide survey Thursday ranked immigration as the most important issue in the state, overshadowing even education.

"I think you will see a bigger than expected turnout among Latinos because of this one issue," said DiCamillo, noting that Latinos are the state's fastest-growing voting bloc.

As part of his campaign strategy, Schwarzenegger needs to lure Latinos, a traditionally Democratic-leaning group, but he also must consider Republican conservatives who want a border clampdown. And then there is the state's multibillion-dollar agriculture machine -- a powerful political force which relies on a steady supply of low-priced labor.

Schwarzenegger has said he favors a temporary worker program, an approach the U.S. Senate has debated, but has said little about how such a plan should work. He does not support blanket amnesty, and thinks it is impractical to consider deporting millions of illegal immigrants.

Other border state governors have taken different steps.

Last year, New Mexico's Bill Richardson declared a state of emergency in border counties, letting him funnel state money to local governments and law enforcement. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has shifted state public-safety officers and equipment to provide more border security. Gov. Janet Napolitano signed an order in March to expand the Arizona National Guard's border presence to help with illegal immigration.

"There's a great deal of frustration in the Republican ranks right now about the fact that the Republican leadership -- whether Arnold Schwarzenegger or George Bush -- is not making it a priority to close the border to illegal immigration," said GOP consultant Karen Hanretty, a former chief spokeswoman for the state Republican Party.

Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said the governor has laid out a consistent policy proposal on immigration, but stressed that ultimately it is Congress' job to hammer out details. The governor considers fences of use in some instances, she said, coupled with increased patrols and surveillance.

"He's ... doing everything he can to pressure the federal government to provide a comprehensive solution," she said.

The actor-governor came to the United States nearly four decades ago. He became a naturalized citizen in 1984, retaining his Austrian citizenship.

Once elected in 2003, Schwarzenegger inherited an issue that bedeviled governors before him. Shortly after taking office, he repealed new legislation enacted under his predecessor, Gov. Gray Davis, to give undocumented immigrants drivers' licenses.

The issue has particular importance for a moderate governor in a state where only about one in three voters is a registered Republican.

A voter survey Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California found that only two of 10 Latinos approve of the governor's leadership. The governor won about a third of Latino voters in the 2003 recall election that put him in office, even though Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a Latino Democrat, was on the ballot.

This week, the governor has taken steps to make an impression with the Latino community. On Monday, Schwarzenegger made a point of publicly saying how troubled he was by threats against Bustamante and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He has also endorsed the mayor's plan to take control of city schools, an issue that has strong appeal in Latino communities.

And yet his caution was evident in an appearance just days after a half-million people jammed Los Angeles streets to protest a threatened federal crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Schwarzenegger met dozens of Latino business leaders near Los Angeles, and talked at length about the state economy and small businesses.

He didn't say a word about the protest.

Contact Arnold now and tell him he just lost the election:

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