Democrats gain edge on border security
GOP's inaction an opportunity

Billy House
Republic Washington Bureau
Aug. 18, 2005 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - In declaring states of emergency along Arizona's and New Mexico's borders with Mexico, two governors facing re-election next year put themselves at the forefront of what could become a Democratic strategy to take the lead on immigration reform.

By taking border security into their own hands, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson are responding to the needs of their states, which are grappling with an increasing influx of undocumented immigrants.

But the two Democrats also are boosting their profiles on an issue that is gaining momentum nationally, while pointing to what they believe are Bush administration failures regarding border security and immigration reform. advertisement




Their GOP border-state counterparts, Arnold Schwarzenegger in California and Rick Perry in Texas, have not declared states of emergency.

"This is something they (Democrats) have been looking for, something they could beat the president up with," said Martha Montelongo, who has hosted a radio talk show in Southern California focusing on issues of importance to Hispanics.

Montelongo believes Napolitano and Richardson have politically "triangulated," or exploited, the frustration within even Bush's voter base on the hot-button issues of border security and immigration reform and are trying to "outflank" him and other Republicans who've been unable so far to agree on solutions.

The two governors are not the only Democrats who've recently decided to take a strong position on border issues.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who, like Richardson, is seen as a potential 2008 presidential candidate, has said she wants better high-tech border-control measures and fines for employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

And some Democrats, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Rep. Ed Pastor of Arizona, have said they support an immigration measure sponsored by Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

Even Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., conceded Wednesday that he believes Democrats have zeroed in on immigration as a key issue for next year's midterm elections and perhaps beyond.

"Sure, they can read the polls," said Hayworth, who added that the Democrats appear ready to say, "We're going to get tough and beat up on Washington."

He said such maneuverings may have resonance with the fastest-growing segment of voters: independents.

But Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan political newsletter, said he is not sure anyone really can gain the upper hand or score points on the thorny political issue.

He noted that splits over immigration and border security don't just run within the Republican Party, where Bush's calls for such reforms as a guest-worker program for foreigners have stalled amid fears by some in Congress that it will turn into an amnesty program. The disagreements also run throughout the Democratic Party and almost all segments of the public, including among Hispanics, according to polls.

Napolitano and Richardson, Cook believes, really are trying to respond to the outcry from residents in their states for somebody to do something.They are not alone.

Illegal immigration and border security clearly are on the minds of people throughout the country.

One national tracking survey by the nonpartisan Public Agenda Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index ranks stemming the flow of illegal immigration as a top international relations concern for the American public.

Asked by the survey to rank proposals to improve U.S. security, respondents rated the tightening of immigration second only to improving U.S. intelligence operations.

Three-quarters of the 1,004 Americans surveyed for the index from June 1 to June 13 gave the United States a "C" grade or worse in protecting the borders, with nearly one-quarter handing out an "F" grade. Fifty-eight percent said tighter controls on immigration would strengthen national security "a great deal." The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The emergency declarations by Napolitano on Monday and Richardson last Friday are expected this fiscal year to make available $1.5 million in Arizona and $1.75 million in New Mexico to improve border security and cover a wide range of costs, from repairing border fences to paying overtime for local law enforcement agencies dealing with smuggling-related crime.

Napolitano said Wednesday that national Democratic Party officials never have talked to her about how she should handle the politics of illegal immigration.

"I don't think immigration should be a partisan issue," Napolitano said. "I venture to say it's a border issue. We need our congressional delegation, Republican and Democrat alike, to unite and really be pushing the fact that from our state's relationship to the federal government, the Number 1 issue is illegal immigration. Whatever I can do to shine the spotlight on the urgency of it, I will do."

She added: "People are basically dying because of the failure of our federal immigration policy and the lack of resources. Arizona taxpayers are being made to pay for what should be a federal government responsibility."

On Wednesday, a White House spokeswoman referred all questions about the governors' declarations to the Department of Homeland Security.

Department spokesman Russ Knocke said there has "been a great amount of assets and personnel" spent on border security by the Bush administration since Sept. 11, 2001.

He said border security spending has increased 58 percent and U.S. Border Patrol manpower 15 percent. And, he said, measures to enhance border security will be announced soon.

Although he has made no border emergency declaration, Schwarzenegger on Wednesday told a California morning radio talk show that he thought the emergency declarations by Napolitano and Richardson were "a terrific idea."

For now, he said, he has no plans to follow suit.

Perry, who is running for re-election next year, could not be reached. His spokesman told the New York Times in Wednesday's editions that he was not currently considering a state of emergency.

Luis Miranda, a Democratic National Committee spokesman, stopped short of acknowledging there is a concerted strategy by the party and its candidates to seize on immigration as a potential wedge issue.

But he said the Bush administration and Republicans who control both chambers of Congress "haven't addressed the need for comprehensive immigration reform . . . leaving states in a bind."

Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said ongoing Republican inaction on the issue could spell trouble for his party. Flake is a co-sponsor of a House bipartisan immigration-reform bill identical to the McCain-Kennedy bill in the Senate.

"Democrats have a long way to go before outflanking the Republican Party on immigration," Flake said in a statement. "But if the Republicans in Congress don't pass comprehensive immigration reform soon, we risk creating an opening for them."

Reporter Chip Scutari contributed to this article.

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