Posted on Sat, Oct. 20, 2007
Blunt focuses on apprehending illegal immigrants
By TIM HOOVER
The Star’s Jefferson City correspondent

JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Matt Blunt has spent much of his nearly three years in office talking about creating jobs, cutting taxes and funding education.

Now he’s latched onto a new issue with fervor.

While he never mentioned it in any of his three State of the State addresses or made it a legislative priority, Blunt in recent months has adopted a tough stance on illegal immigration.

George Connor, a political scientist at Missouri State University, said Blunt, a Republican, faces a robust opponent in Attorney General Jay Nixon, his likely Democratic challenger in 2008. Cracking down on illegal immigration is especially popular with conservatives, Connor said.

“If immigration has been on the governor’s agenda, it certainly has been on the back burner, and suddenly it’s on the front burner,â€