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Immigration surfaces in Senate race
Sunday, July 30, 2006
BY BRETT LIEBERMAN
Of Our Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Illegal immigration is not a big issue for many Pennsylvanians, but it has led to a war of words and become one of the first major topics to dominate the U.S. Senate election.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., has been blasting the bill the Senate passed, saying it would grant "amnesty" to the 11 million to 12 million immigrants already in the country illegally.

Santorum accuses Democratic challenger Robert P. Casey Jr., the state treasurer, of siding with liberals because he supports the measure co-sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The bill is also supported by President Bush.

Casey accuses Santorum of politicizing the issue after failing to get tough on border security until an election year.

"It appeals to the hard right, but when they have to do that and not reach out to the middle, they're in trouble," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Santorum disagrees, saying it is one of the top issues he hears from voters.

The issue, which polls show plays well with Republicans, was the first that Santorum raised when he began airing commercials last month.

Santorum, in his ad, touts his support for adding border patrol guards and technology to improve border security.

"To do anything less is not only dangerous, but an insult to those who have come to America by following the rules," he said in the commercial.

But Casey questions the motives of Santorum and conservative Republicans. He noted that Santorum has voted seven times against increased funding for border security and has opposed legislation that would make employers liable for hiring illegal immigrants.

"The last time I checked he's been in the Senate for 12 years and the last six in leadership; and his first TV ad is an ad about an issue that he has done nothing about," Casey told reporters in York last weekend.

Santorum has been championing himself as being tough on immigration and opposed to the Senate plan, which creates a "guest worker" program that would allow immigrants already in the U.S. to work toward citizenship as long as they learn English, pay back taxes and are not criminal threats.

"The American public doesn't believe that we're serious about enforcing the laws of this country and doesn't believe that we're serious about securing the borders, which the vast majority of Americans believe is not only a national security problem but a threat to our economic security and, in many cases, their own job," he said.

Casey and critics say that Santorum's strategy fails to address how to deal with those illegal immigrants already in the country.

BRETT LIEBERMAN: 202-383-7833 or blieberman@patriot-news.com