FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2007
CONTACT: Marisa McNee 917-733-2351

The Politics of Immigration Weekly Round-up: 12/14 - 12/19

This week immigration seemed less prominent in presidential politics than in the recent past. As folks in Iowa and New Hampshire settle down for the holidays, presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle have shifted away from the immigration-free-for-all and instead have focused their efforts on the competition to release the best Christmas political ad of the season. They are probably trying to get on the "who's been nice" list. Romney dismissed the effort while defending his attack ads against Huckabee, one focusing on immigration, even as Huckabee flip-flopped last week. That flip-flop could put Huckabee on the naughty list, since as Michael Gerson said Huckabee "is managing to compromise his most distinctive virtue at the very moment the attention of the public is focused on his candidacy. In politics, a candidate can bend over backward so far that his spine snaps."

The harsh rhetoric coming from many of the GOP presidential candidates (and the anti-immigrant groups as well) in the past weeks has landed them in some hot water, particularly with the faith community. Cardinal Mahoney admonished the candidates this week for their harsh tone, and faith groups in Iowa are urging a cease fire on immigration.

In local political news, we're seeing yet more evidence that the immigration issue is neither a silver bullet nor a third rail as news comes this morning that a Republican strong-hold has fallen to a Democrat in a Texas state House district where the Republican candidate focused heavily on the issue of illegal immigration.

Read on for the weekly round up on the politics of immigration...

In the News

Many in the faith community stepped into the spotlight this week in an effort to tone-down the harsh rhetoric surrounding the immigration debate, particularly coming from the GOP presidential candidates scrambling to make headway in the Iowa Caucuses. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony sent a letter to all the presidential candidates urging them to "show leadership on the issue of immigration" and to work to find a "humane and comprehensive solution to our broken immigration system":

The cardinal expressed disappointment at the tone of the immigration debate and urged the candidates to replace verbal attacks on immigrants with a focus on policy solutions.

"I am deeply disturbed that, to date, the discussion on immigration has failed to significantly focus upon policy solutions to illegal immigration," he wrote.

"Rather, the debate has been characterized by verbal assaults on undocumented immigrants, assaults which have had the effect of alienating immigrants to our country -- not only the undocumented but also legal immigrants and newly naturalized citizens," he said.

Cardinal Mahony also reminded the candidates they have a responsibility to outline a vision for the future of the country that includes leadership on immigration reform.

Catholic Online, Cardinal Mahony: Candidates should focus on immigration, December 14, 2007

And a diverse group of religious leaders this week called on the candidates to stop the hateful rhetoric and immigration fear-mongering:

"Alarmed by what they called a ''hateful tenor,'' a group of religious leaders, including the former pastor at Miami's Notre Dame D'Haiti Catholic Church, on Monday called on presidential hopefuls to stop demonizing undocumented immigrants.

The call came as immigration emerges as one of the most contentious issues in the presidential race and as Republican candidates, in particular, seek to outflank each other by appearing tough on immigration.

"Unfortunately, the presidential candidates are allowing themselves to be co-opted into divisiveness rather than offering leadership,'' said Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, a former Miami pastor who now chairs the committee on international policy for the U.S. Catholic bishops.

The Rev. Luis Cortes, the founder of Esperanza USA, a group of Christian Hispanic leaders influential in President Bush's Hispanic outreach efforts, warned that the GOP risks alienating Hispanics -- the fastest growing voting block in the country.

''They're moving away from a Republican position that they previously held as a party of family values,'' said Cortes, who appeared on the call organized by Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. He suggested Mitt Romney, who has been the most aggressive candidate on illegal immigration, has influenced the other candidates to follow suit.

''It seems Romney put his presidential bid on it, and was able to move Giuliani,'' Cortes said. But he said evangelicals are most ''surprised'' by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, whom he said "started with a Biblical position and the minute he moved up in polls, took a step to the right.

Miami Herald, Clerics: Don't Demonize Immigrants, December 17, 2007

"As the candidates campaigned in Iowa and other early-voting states, leaders from the interdenominational Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform challenged them to moderate "the hateful tenor of the debate." Some campaigns are competing to show who would be tougher on illegal immigration after reform efforts failed in Congress.

They particularly criticized some Republicans for discussing immigration primarily from the point of view of enforcement -- creating a sense of insecurity among Hispanic immigrants who, they said, have seen an increase in hate crimes since the debate picked up steam.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, of Northland, A Church Distributed, an evangelical congregation of about 12,000 based in Longwood, said he saw a need to join the effort, partly to counter the radical enforcement views that crowd talk radio.

"This kind of complex issue needs every bit as detailed dialogue and coalition-building as something like health-care reform," Hunter said. "I always refer back to loving your neighbors as you love yourself [and] every person is made in the image of God. Those are just basic tenets, and if you live by those, you will have a different approach on this issue."

To the Rev. Derrick Harkins, pastor of the primarily black Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., policy positions are less important than how the views are expressed.

"Wherever we are in the spectrum of this," Harkins said, "we do not have the right to speak in a way that marginalizes or dehumanizes people."

Orlando Sentinel, Orlando-area religious leaders, others ask candidates to stop anti-immigrant rhetoric, December 18, 2007

Political Pollster John Zogby offers his take on the real dangers of the immigration issue:

"...while there is a very vocal and intense minority of those who want a radical stance against illegal immigration, this is an issue that ultimately will hurt Republicans. The party runs the risk of alienating Hispanics in 2008, just as it did in 2006."

Campaigns & Elections, Voters Want Change. But Which Party Represents it? December 2007

The USA Today Editorial Board offers up some thoughts on whether the harsh words on immigration could backfire on the GOP:

Listening to the Republican presidential candidates, you might sometimes think that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the softening economy, a government in serious debt or a planet in climatological peril are second-tier issues.

They're talked about, but the talk is often drowned out by a clattering, non-stop debate about illegal immigration. To some degree, this is inevitable. An estimated 12 million people, about 4% of the population, are in this country illegally. In areas where the immigrant population - legal and illegal alike - has swelled, local services have been strained. Collisions of culture and language have tensions running high. Meanwhile, Washington has utterly failed to agree on a response.

Even so, there's a fine line between advocating that laws have meaning, which they must, and stoking anti-immigrant sentiments. The tone and volume of the comments of several GOP candidates, as well as some of their specific proposals, position them on the wrong side of that line.

As they race to abandon previous positions based on compromise and pragmatism, and as they attack each other relentlessly in ads and debates, the candidates make the race for the nomination look like an unseemly competition for who can be meanest.

While such tactics might give them an edge in some early primary states, they only aggravate an enormously complex problem with no elegant solutions...

...Karl Rove, the architect of Bush's victories in 2000 and 2004, saw immigration reform and Hispanics as key elements of his effort to craft a lasting GOP majority. On the other side of the political divide, many Democrats see the potential for Hispanic voters to contribute to an era of their party's ascendency.

Hispanic voters, of course, are no monolith. They originate from more than a dozen countries and have diverse views about immigration and other issues.

But if the Republicans' harsh pre-primary rhetoric backfires on them next November in Florida and other battleground states, they will have only themselves to blame.

USA Today Editorial, Harsh Words on Immigration Could Backfire on GOP, December 19, 2007

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson offers up his take on Huckabee's immigration flip flop:

Candidates, of course, must win caucuses and primaries before they have the chance to be principled in general elections. Compromise is inevitable. But sometimes political maneuvers are so sudden and reckless they raise deeper questions. Huckabee's main appeal has been his homespun decency. But his behavior on immigration has been a kind of politics-as-usual so blatant it is actually unusual. Huckabee is managing to compromise his most distinctive virtue at the very moment the attention of the public is focused on his candidacy. In politics, a candidate can bend over backward so far that his spine snaps.

These errors don't have to be fatal for Huckabee, who has a compelling message and personality. His populist disdain for the elites of Wall Street and the Republican establishment has earned him increasing opposition, but might also allow him to position Republicans as the party of change in an election which will reward a message of change.

But it is worth recalling a quote from Thomas More in "A Man For All Seasons." More's protege Richard Rich has compromised his convictions to be appointed attorney general for Wales. "For Wales?" asks More. "Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. ... But for Wales?"

The question now comes to Mike Huckabee, who knows the biblical reference: "For Iowa?"

Pasadena Star-News, Michael Gerson: Homespun goes hard-line in Huckabee, December 16, 2007

And in Texas, a Republican stronghold has fallen to a Democrat who refused to demagogue the immigration issue despite relentless attacks from his Republican opponent. Is there anyone out there who is still trying to claim this issue is the third rail of American politics or that it's the silver bullet the GOP needs for 2008?

Thirty years of Republican representation of southwest Tarrant County ended Tuesday as Democrat Dan Barrett defeated Republican Mark Shelton in a runoff election to win a seat in the state House of Representatives.

During the runoff, Barrett's campaign hammered on Shelton's support of controversial House Speaker Tom Craddick. Shelton focused on illegal immigration.

Star-Telegram, Republican Stronghold falls to Democrat, December 19, 2007

Spanish Language Press (Our Translation)

Jorge Cancino highlights the disappointment of immigrant communities in 2007 and the failure to pass immigration reform:

The 12 million undocumented that live in the United States are sorry that Congress has abandoned the reform debate, which will close the door to legalization and has left to see a quota increase of visas for temporary workers, and in return, will harden the immigration policies favoring raids, recommending the construction of a wall at the border with Mexico and becoming a quiet spectator in the discussion of anti-immigrant laws in the states.

Univision Online, Immigrants, Left Empty Handed, December 18, 2007

Other Resources

• For a closer look at 2007 races, visit Immigration2007.org
• For a look at polling and public opinion on immigration and legalization, visit the National Immigration Forum's website at ImmigrationForum.org
• For a look at the Latino electorate and the impact of the immigration debate, see NDN's report, Hispanics Rising
• For a comprehensive look at the Latino electorate, see NCLR's report The Latino Electorate: Profile and Trends