http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/15155473.htm

Posted on Sun, Jul. 30, 2006

Immigration top election issue

STEPHEN MAJORS
Herald Staff Writer

BRADENTON - This election season, voters' mailboxes and televisions in the 13th Congressional District have been filled with the symbols and the rhetoric of an increasingly emotional immigration debate

Pictures of a weak fence along a desolate border, photographs of larger, razor-wire fences in the desert, the phrases "amnesty" and "border security," and candidates telling you what needs to be done.

Some Republican candidates say immigration reform is a key issue - even the top issue - while others say it is a distraction from other priorities and a naked attempt to inflame voter passions and garner votes.

Voters will soon pick the Republican and Democratic nominees for the 13th District seat, which is being vacated by Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Longboat Key. And while some candidates seek out the discussion on immigration and others want to talk about different issues, it is sure to be a hot topic in the Republican primary, and a contentious issue in the general election.

Across the nation, as lawmakers have tried to hammer out a deal on border security and some type of worker program for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, the issue has filtered down to local races.

It is particularly complex in Florida, which has an economy based on lower-wage jobs in the tourism, agriculture and construction industries. Florida also has the third-largest immigrant population in the United States.

A recent poll of Florida voters conducted by Strategic Vision LLC, an Atlanta-based political consulting firm, showed that 73 percent of respondents favored the construction of a fence along the border with Mexico, while 17 percent opposed it. And 69 percent of respondents said they didn't want illegal immigrants to be granted amnesty.

Republican Vern Buchanan, the chief executive of an $800 million business enterprise with strong ties to the state and national chambers of commerce, is the only candidate in the race who says that immigration reform is the No. 1 issue for local voters. Buchanan, having polled the 13th District extensively, comes down heavily on the need for border security, and says any solution for workers already here must be secondary to securing the borders.

"I'm going to take a stand on what I think is right," said Buchanan, who supports allowing governors to decide whether the military should be used to patrol the border. He is against automatic citizenship, is in favor of a fence along the southern border and wants known gang leaders and terrorists deported.

"Politicians are pandering to what they think, based on polls, about who votes and who doesn't vote, with total disregard to what the country really needs," said Jim Delgado, a local attorney who also serves with the Mexican Council of Florida.

Delgado said he has purchased a car from Sarasota Ford, owned by Buchanan, and knows of illegal immigrants who have done the same. Delgado said the top goal of hard-line positions like Buchanan's is to get elected, and there's no concern for what's better for the community.

But Buchanan's position, influenced by his ties to the business community, which supports a dual plan of increased border security and a guest-worker program, is also more nuanced. His plan on border security does not specifically mention support for a guest-worker program - only that a guest worker program must not lead to citizenship.

Buchanan says that it would be impossible to deport all illegal immigrants, and that some sort of national identification card must be provided to track the whereabouts of workers. And, demonstrating his ties to the business community, Buchanan says the country needs to discuss the idea of penalizing employers who hire illegal immigrants, but stops short of expressing support for that step.

Democrat Jan Schneider, who isn't campaigning on immigration reform as a top issue, supports sanctions on businesses. She also agrees with Buchanan on establishing a national identification system for workers, but is more in favor of an expansive Senate proposal that includes worker and citizenship provisions, as opposed to a House plan that favors law enforcement only.

Mark Flanagan, another Republican candidate who released a plan on immigration, said that "the vast majority of residents don't bring this issue up." But constituents do bring up the issue of national security frequently, and that's where, like many Republicans, Flanagan sees a home for the immigration debate.

Like Buchanan, Flanagan said any discussion of a worker program can only take place after the borders are secured.

Unlike Buchanan, Flanagan couches his language on immigration reform by talking about the burdens illegal immigration places on American citizens.

Flanagan said illegal immigration is "taking away jobs from Americans . . . and overburdening our social services and costing taxpayers dearly."

"When laws are not enforced, they're not followed," Flanagan said. "There is a legal way to enter this country and there is a legal way to become a citizen."

But Flanagan also thinks any immigration reform must be more comprehensive to include a revision of the process by which immigrants become legal, so that more can be accommodated in a legal fashion.

Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, said Florida voters are especially attentive to security concerns because of the number of seaports, the flight schools used in preparation for the 9/11 attacks and recent terrorism arrests in Miami.

"It's a high priority among a lot of voters," MacManus said. "Obviously, candidates are going to tap into that because it easily mobilizes voters."

But she also said the large proportion of immigrant labor in Florida makes the economic arguments difficult to sell.

"The taking-away-jobs argument fares better in states that are heavily unionized," MacManus said.

State Rep. Donna Clarke, another Republican in the race, supports an eventual plan for citizenship, but only after the borders are secured and a guest worker program is set up. Clarke said the origin of the nation's immigration woes results from a failure to update the visa system since 1985.

"We're a pretty open, free country and it's important that we bring our immigration laws up to date," Clarke said. "The majority of folks we are dealing with want to do it the legal way. We've just shut them out with our current visa rules. The whole situation has gotten out of hand."

Clarke said the issue was huge earlier in the year, when the rhetoric was primarily about fear and national security, but now voters understand that it's a very complex problem in need of a complex solution.

The remaining three candidates, Republicans Tramm Hudson and state Rep. Nancy Detert, and Democrat Christine Jennings, all support a combination of securing the borders and finding a way for immigrant labor to remain in the workforce legally. Hudson and Detert support guest-worker programs, while Jennings supports a guest-worker program and a pathway to earned citizenship that requires immigrants to learn English, pay fines and refrain from criminal activity.

"People are starting to feel the effect of it, going into hospital emergency rooms or restaurants," said Hudson, who also said the state has critical needs in the construction and agricultural industries.

"They are doing jobs that Americans can't or won't do," Detert said.