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GOP incumbents take heat from right on immigration
By Patrick O'Connor

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is known as one of the most outspoken and reliable conservative voices in the House, but that didn’t stop his Republican opponent from attacking his stance on immigration reform during their 2004 primary fight.

In his bid to unseat Flake, Stan Barnes, a former state senator, posted 4-foot-by-8-foot signs throughout their suburban Mesa, Ariz., district, emblazoned with a bold message he believed would resonate in the campaign: “SECURE THE BORDER.�

The signs were a response to Flake’s effort to expand the federal guest-worker program.

Flake beat Barnes by 18 points but was not the only Republican member challenged on immigration last cycle. While none of the challengers was successful, the call for tougher border security has created a difficult backdrop for Republicans looking to overhaul temporary-worker programs in a post-Sept. 11 America.

“It’s a great bumper sticker,� Flake said of the Barnes attack, “but it doesn’t do much to help policy.�

The Republican Party remains deeply divided over immigration, with supporters of agriculture and business lined up against those who say increasing the flow of foreign workers would crowd Americans out of jobs and undermine national security. President Bush and other Republican leaders have made immigration a key issue in hopes of attracting Hispanic votes.

The issue is quietly smoldering in districts throughout the country, making it harder for Congress to ignore.

Last Monday, Flake, conservative activist Grover Norquist and Tamar Jacoby, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute who strongly favors expanded guest-worker programs, met with a number of conservative House members, including Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), to discuss immigration. Republican Policy Committee Chairman John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), a former RSC chairman, has been charged with organizing debate within the House GOP conference.

Bush is wrestling with how best to handle the divisive issue. During his first term, he publicly supported the expansion of federal guest-worker programs, which included protections for workers who are already here illegally. But the president has been quiet on the topic this year, focusing instead on Social Security reform and judicial appointments.

He is expected to renew his push when Congress returns in the fall. A new coalition of business interests, led by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) and former Rep. Cal Dooley (D-Calif.), recently announced White House support for its drive to create a new national guest-worker program. The coalition will be organized by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie.

“There is nothing contradictory about letting people working here stay and having stronger borders,� said Norquist, who heads Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and strongly supports allowing more temporary foreign workers into this country.

He said the rhetoric of anti-immigration Republicans such as Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) has made rational debate difficult and undermines the party among immigrants.

The conservative media have also played a part, Norquist added. “The vast majority of Republicans are with the president, but if you start the conversation you’ll get yelled at by all the talking heads on talk radio,� Norquist said. “Why bother with the headache?�

As evidence, House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) won a closer-than-expected reelection last year after local radio hosts accused him of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants. This year, Dreier co-sponsored legislation to create a national driver’s-license standard despite pleas from immigrant-rights groups, but he could still face a conservative Republican challenger during next year’s primary.

Norquist said he doubts that GOP candidates who aggressively pursue immigration restrictions would win extra votes. “It’s not clear to me that opposition to immigration is a vote-moving issue,� he said.

In addition to Dreier, Kolbe and Flake, Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Dan Lungren and Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) all beat opponents who attacked them as “soft� on immigration, according to a list compiled by ATR. Lungren’s opponent, Rico Oller, even called him “a supporter of terrorism.�

“When Republican politicians speak to the voters, they better understand that their rhetoric will not be heard with the nuance they expected,�

Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), who will face the same anti-immigration candidate next year as he did last time, said that he is concerned about the fierce nature of the attacks but that he remains undeterred in seeking broad changes to the country’s immigration system.

“I think the letters are very real,� Kolbe said. “It’s a major concern for my district.�

He and Flake have co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) to expand temporary-worker programs and create avenues for workers who are already here illegally to gain permanent or temporary residency. Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) have introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) introduced competing legislation last week that would create a much more restrictive guest-worker program and force workers who are here illegally to leave.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on both bills yesterday.

Kolbe said that his constituents are upset about the economy and national security and that many have found an outlet for those frustrations in the immigration issue. So, Kolbe said, those who support guest-worker programs have to show progress on border security.

The most recent version of their bill, released in May, opens with a section on border security before laying out changes to guest-worker programs. Last Congress, the bill dealt only with expansion of guest-worker programs.

Kolbe’s Republican opponent, state Rep. Randy Graf, is already on the attack. “Jim Kolbe proclaims his concern over our ‘failed immigration policies’ and ‘securing our nation,’� Graf said in a statement Monday, “then he returns to Washington, D.C., and hamstrings the Border Patrol through appropriations and offers us an amnesty program with Ted Kennedy.�

The issue has been gaining momentum since Sept. 11, 2001, Kolbe said. In a recent survey of 37 Republican lawmakers, 17 listed “immigration/border security� as the issue “most on the minds of constituents.�

One respondent wrote, “Concern and anger over illegal immigration continues to become a louder drumbeat.�

“Immigration: Highest-octane issue in America,� wrote another.

Jacoby said, “The easy, unthinking response to the problem of immigration reform … is to crack down harder. It takes a sophisticated understanding to realize that is not workable law.�

Conservative Republicans have led the debate and will continue to be the key negotiating bloc within the conference.

Flake said it was imperative that the White House and congressional leadership tackle this issue in one large bill rather than one piece at a time.

“You have to do this all at once,� Flake said. “You can’t do this piecemeal.�