Immigration issue is a minefield
Immigration issue is a minefield
October 23, 2011
Subjects of border walls, amnesty are bound to offend someone; candidates tread with care to keep voters
By Gina Smith
COLUMBIA -- Ivan Segura, a U.S. citizen who was born in Mexico, shakes his head when the Republican presidential candidates talk about illegal immigration.
"They're not talking about what to do about those who are already here," said Segura, who works as an advocate for immigrants in South Carolina. "How are you going to get 12 million people out of the country? Where are you going to get the money? How are you going to identify them? Give me some workable solutions."
Halting the flow of illegal immigrants into the country - and figuring out what to do about those already here - has become a major issue in the GOP presidential primary, triggering sparks between the dueling candidates.
Some, including Segura, say none of the Republican candidates is offering a workable, realistic solution, such as a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country.
Perhaps more than any other issue, illegal immigration is a tricky topic for the GOP contenders. Each time they speak, candidates risk offending someone - Republicans who want a crackdown or the growing number of Hispanic voters who are U.S. citizens.
"It is an explosive issue," said Dave Woodard, a Clemson political scientist and pollster. "It's an emotional issue. There's no way for candidates to answer the questions that doesn't offend someone. You have peach farmers saying, 'We need these workers.' And you have other voters saying, 'It's not fair for them to be in the country.'"
The result?
"The candidates have all gravitated to talking about securing the border, building that fence (along the U.S.-Mexico border)," Woodard said. "But there hasn't been much talk on the tougher part on what to do with those already here."
The local impact
Citing what they see as lack of action on the federal level to stem illegal immigration, state lawmakers around the country, including in South Carolina, are pushing through tough, controversial reforms themselves.
South Carolina's new immigration law, requiring law enforcement to check the immigration status of motorists they stop, has been challenged in a federal lawsuit this month by immigrant-advocacy groups. They say the law, set to go into effect Jan. 1, will encourage racial profiling and violate the constitutional rights of those stopped.
Long-term, state lawmakers say the federal government must step up and solve the issue.
The Republican presidential candidates each advocate many of the same solutions to address the problem, including enforcing the laws already on the books, securing the border by building walls, utilizing unspecified technology and deploying the National Guard to the border.
Perry's Achilles heel?
Only one candidate has first-hand experience with tackling the problem - Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who catapulted to the top of the polls after announcing his candidacy in Charleston in August only to fade into the background.
In the most recent poll, released last week, Perry was favored by just 9 percent of likely S.C. GOP primary voters. Perry's drop in the polls is the result of his poor performance in GOP debates, where he failed to fend off critics on the issue of illegal immigration, in particular.
A key debating point has been an education bill that Perry signed into law in 2001, allowing some illegal immigrants in Texas to pay in-state tuition rates if they had lived in the state for three years, had a Texas high school diploma or the equivalent and had applied for citizenship.
Perry has defended the law several times, saying opponents "don't ... have a heart."
Nationally, Perry supports building a fence along some areas of the border, opposes amnesty for immigrants illegally in the country, and wants the federal government to provide more border patrol agents and National Guard units to secure the border.
"The strange thing is, he's had some real successes on immigration," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, referring to Perry's use of Texas taxpayers' money to help secure the border. "His campaign was late getting that information out there."
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