Republicans reignite migrant issue

By Edward Luce in Washington

Published: February 2 2009 00:10 | Last updated: February 2 2009 00:10

Two years ago opposition to illegal immigration was the biggest lightning rod in US politics. Today it appears virtually to have vanished. But with unemployment marching towards double digits, some Republican lawmakers have started to rekindle the issue.

A series of raids to find and deport illegal immigrants has coincided with a decline in their job prospects in the US
The seeds of this latest potential backlash are not confined just to illegal immigrants. Last week, Chuck Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa, wrote to Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, urging him first to dismiss foreign workers on H1B visas as part of the company’s 5,000 job cuts during the next 18 months. “Microsoft has a moral obligation to protect these American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times,â€