Thread: Immigration to be Major Issue in U.S. Senate Race

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Immigration to be major issue in U.S. Senate race
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/25/06
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — New Jersey is thousands of miles from the border with Mexico, but a recent poll suggests illegal immigration is a top issue in the state's U.S. Senate campaign.

Republican candidate Thomas H. Kean Jr. says strict immigration reform would be a top priority if he's elected. Yet Kean won't say whether or not he supports an ordinance adopted by Riverside Township, Burlington County, which prohibits residents from hiring or renting to illegal immigrants.

Kean's opponent, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, said Thursday he opposes the Riverside ordinance, which is being challenged in federal court.

A poll released this summer suggests that immigration will be a top issue in the Senate campaign between Kean, who comes from a politically prominent New Jersey family, and Menendez, whose parents emigrated from Cuba.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics make up nearly 15 percent of the state's population. An estimated 350,000 illegal immigrants live in New Jersey.

A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released in June showed that 65 percent of New Jerseyans said that illegal immigrants who have lived and worked in this country for at least two years should be permitted to eventually seek legal status. Thirty-two percent said they should be deported.

The telephone survey of 800 adults, conducted from June 14 to 19, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released in June showed that 65 percent of New Jerseyans said that illegal immigrants who have lived and worked in this country for at least two years should be permitted to eventually seek legal status. Thirty-two percent said they should be deported.

Even if these poll results are accurate, the 65% who say they favor amnesty, are probably not that passionate about it. But, the 32% who want deportation are very passionate. The end result is that it will be nearly impossible to govern unless those 32% are satisfied. The rest are likely to go along with whatever happens. The lesson for republicans? You'll never get elected without that 32%.

They probably took this poll at a day labor center.

Or asked in other in the press room

Yet Kean won't say whether or not he supports an ordinance adopted by Riverside Township, Burlington County, which prohibits residents from hiring or renting to illegal immigrants.

Kean's opponent, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, said Thursday he opposes the Riverside ordinance, which is being challenged in federal court.

Looks like citizens of NJ are stuck between a rock and a hard spot.