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U.S., Mexican leaders to discuss immigration

Susan Carroll
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 24, 2006 12:00 AM

Four governors. Two Democrats and two Republicans. One giant issue.

Border-state Govs. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Texas Gov. Rick Perry join executives from Mexico's five border states at the U.S.-Mexico Border Governors Conference 2006 this week in Austin, Texas.

Although the agenda is littered with topics, it undoubtedly will focus on the Southwest's marquee issue: immigration.

And with all four border-state governors up for re-election in November, officials are looking to come out of the meeting with something tangible for constituents in their home states.


Napolitano's challengers targeting border issues


Republicans vying to challenge Janet Napolitano in the general election are hitting one issue hard: illegal immigration.

Napolitano, a Democrat, has taken major criticism for vetoing some immigration-related legislation passed by the Republican-led Legislature in recent years.

But Napolitano also has moved to silence conservative critics, calling on President Bush to put the National Guard on the border and setting up task forces at the state level to combat crime associated with illegal immigration.

Though Napolitano long maintained that securing the border was a federal responsibility, last August she followed New Mexico in declaring a state of emergency along Arizona's border. That funneled $1.5 million to local border governments. Still, a poll released this month by the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center found that state leaders were not trusted to come up with "immigration reform that works." Thirty-eight percent trusted Napolitano, 41 percent trusted the Legislature, and 21 percent trusted neither.

"I know her opposition is trying to make (illegal immigration) the main factor" in the upcoming election, said John Garcia, a University of Arizona political science professor. "But I think what I've seen in polls is that Arizonans are concerned about a broader range of issues than just immigration."


Schwarzenneger looking to aim for middle ground


Political strategists watching the California gubernatorial race say Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to play immigration as close to the middle as possible, for fear of losing either his conservative base or alienating Latino voters.

"He goes back and forth," said Louis DiSipio, a political science professor at the University of California - Irvine, "and I think he's going to be very cautious."

Schwarzenegger initially seemed reluctant to station the California National Guard on the border, a move many saw as responsive to the state's immigrant population. But the governor also grabbed headlines when he voiced support for the Minuteman Project.

His staffers said he plans to sign a comprehensive immigration reform resolution in Austin this week with the two Democratic governors. The governor, who immigrated to the U.S. from Austria, also has said he would support a guest-worker program and an eventual path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, roiling some members of his own party.

"I think he realizes that he can't take pro-unauthorized immigrant positions," DiSipio said. "But at the same time, he can't be too strongly aligned with them (border control conservatives), or he'll go the same direction as (former governor) Pete Wilson.

"He's playing it as close to the middle as he can," he said.


Immigration not an issue for Richardson, New Mexico


New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, grabbed headlines across the country last August when he declared a state of emergency along the state's southern border.

But the issue of illegal immigration so far hasn't really factored into his campaign against Republican John Dendahl, and political observers in New Mexico said it's not expected to be a major issue.



Going in the November elections, Richardson's popularity is high, and he has "hordes" of money for the campaign, said Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico. His Republican challenger, Dendahl, was a latecomer to he race. But while Republicans across the country are pushing for greater restrictions on illegal immigration, the issue may not have much sway in New Mexico. New Mexicans do not typically seem to put illegal immigration at the top of their lists of concerns, Atkeson said.

"We're very unique that way as a border state," she said. "It doesn't get the kind of ground you get in Arizona . . . or in Texas. It does not have that same emotional impact."

Richardson, like Napolitano, is supportive of a guest-worker program and path toward citizenship for undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S.


Texas' Perry may be holdout on immigration accord


When it comes time to talk immigration at the Border Governors Conference, Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry may be the lone holdout at the table, political insiders said.

The other three border governors are supporting a draft resolution that calls for a guest-worker program and bringing undocumented immigrants "out of the shadows," but without necessarily guaranteeing a path toward citizenship.

Meanwhile, Perry has played it conservatively. Spokeswoman Kathy Walt said: "Governor Perry believes the top priority of the Border Governors Conference must be securing our border from drug trafficking, human smuggling and the illegal activities of criminal enterprises and terrorist organizations."

Perry has positioned himself as tough on border crime going into a four-way race against two Independents and a Democrat. "In terms of the criminal activity along the border, he's not going to wait for Washington to act," Walt said.

But Perry has taken heat from Republicans for supporting a guest-worker program, also favored by President Bush, and by opposing a fence along portions of the Southwest border. Instead, Perry favors a "virtual fence," which relies more on cameras and sensors than an actual barrier.

"My hunch is that Perry's primary emphasis is on border security," said John Garcia, a University of Arizona political science professor. "The main constraint would be that he doesn't want to alienate his base."