Candidate play immigration card

Some watchdogs say strategy is meant to play to people's fears

By Natalie Chandler
natalie.chandler@clarionledger.com


Illegal immigration is "a problem we can no longer avoid," State Auditor Phil Bryant tells viewers in a television ad asking them to select him as their next lieutenant governor.

Dismissing Bryant's 2006 performance audit on illegal immigration, his Republican primary opponent, state Sen. Charlie Ross, told a Neshoba County Fair audience last week, "We don't need to do studies to know too many of them are here."

Meanwhile, a woman in a commercial for Delbert Hosemann says the GOP candidate for secretary of state "will ... stop illegal immigrants from voting in our state."

For those who want Mississippians' votes in the Aug. 7 primary and Nov. 6 general election, the issue has become popular. But amid research showing illegal immigrants comprise just 4 percent of the state's population - and doubt that any have attempted to vote - political watchers have dismissed candidates' warnings as easy campaign tactics that may border on racism.

"I think (politicians and the public) have some of the same fears as when the slaves became free here in the South," said Patricia Ice, an attorney with Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance. "They felt like people were going to take their jobs, marry their daughters or sons, and taint their pure white culture."

Candidates argue the issue is a matter of law and that the state should do more to prevent illegal immigration before it increases.

Bryant's performance audit estimated 121,000 illegal immigrants are in Mississippi. The state has a population of almost 3 million.

"I guess it's something that if they're in politics, they have to make a statement on," said Marty Wiseman, director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. "But as far as the state of Mississippi being on the cusp of having an immigration problem, we aren't there at all.

"Most of the large influx of immigrants has come at a time when we needed them the most," Wiseman said, referring to Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. "(But) we are still not a major destination point for Hispanic immigrants."

Georgia, with a population of more than 9 million, has 450,000 Hispanic immigrants, he said.

Several immigration-related bills floated through this year's legislative session, but none became law. Some would have penalized employers for hiring illegal immigrants.

Still, Republicans and Democrats seeking a variety of state and local offices have continued to pound the issue. It has surfaced in legislative races and even in the race for state treasurer, when Democratic candidate Shawn O'Hara pledged during a speech at the Neshoba County Fair to "stop illegal aliens from living and working here." His opponent, Republican incumbent Tate Reeves, did not mention the issue.

Gubernatorial candidates have not been as outspoken. At a town hall meeting earlier this year, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour said the issue is a federal problem and noted that immigrants have helped in Hurricane Katrina recovery. He added his office is working with local law enforcement to address the issue. His Democratic opponent, John Arthur Eaves Jr., said on his Web site, "As governor, I'll make sure that big companies don't get away with giving our jobs to illegal immigrants and sticking us with the bill."

One of Hosemann's Republican opponents, Mike Lott of Petal, notes a lengthier anti-illegal immigration stance, saying, "I've been talking about it for a while, sweetheart ... three years."

Lott and Hosemann acknowledge they do not know if illegal immigrants have attempted to vote in Mississippi. But both say voters want the next secretary of state to make sure it doesn't happen.

"They want to trust that their votes count," Hosemann said.

Politicians deny any racism. Ross and Bryant argued against recent comments made by Jackson State University political science professor Leslie McLemore, who accused them of "trying to use Mexican Americans as a whipping person." McLemore compared it to political speak of the 1950s and 1960s when a fear of African Americans gaining power drove white voters to the polls.

But Ross said African Americans were citizens, and illegal immigrants are breaking the law.

"My longtime concern is not about pandering, it's about protecting the taxpayers of Mississippi," Bryant said in a news release issued after McLemore's comments.

Ross and Bryant's Democratic opponent, state Rep. Jamie Franks of Mooreville, said during a recent forum that he does not support workers who enter the country illegally. He did not offer a specific proposal.


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To comment on this story, call Natalie Chandler at (601) 961-7075. Related news from the Web
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