More Immigration Marches to Come

WASHINGTON (By Nicole Gaouette, LATimes) September 1, 2006 — Immigrants and their supporters will take to the streets today to start a weeklong encore of the rallies that brought millions out last spring. But as they prepare marches in Chicago, Washington, Phoenix and Los Angeles, immigration advocates are facing a less friendly political climate in the nation's capital.

Although Congress may take up immigration when it returns next week, few on Capitol Hill are optimistic about passing legislation before November's midterm elections. And any new initiatives are likely to focus on enforcement, not on providing more legal options for illegal immigrants.

In some political campaigns, hard-liners are embracing immigration as a way to rally voters and target opponents who favor a broad rewrite of existing laws.

In response, advocates are making the rallies more explicitly political, incorporating voter registration drives aimed at affecting tight races in November -- along with reminders that the Hispanic community, in particular, will watch what politicians say.

"We know the issue is being used politically," said Jaime Contreras, chairman of the National Capitol Immigration Coalition, which expects more than 500,000 demonstrators to crowd onto the National Mall Thursday. "Our community understands that we haven't won the war yet, that it will probably go into next year."

House Republicans are also on the offensive, tying immigration to the larger issue of national security as part of their election year campaign strategy.

"From homeland security to national security to border security, House Republicans will focus first and foremost on addressing the safety and security needs of the American people," House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in announcing the GOP legislative agenda for September.

It's too early to determine how many races will feature immigration as an issue, said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Carl Forti. But in a few tight and closely watched contests, it is already a factor.

In the Sept. 12 Republican primary to succeed retiring Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe, a moderate on immigration who backed a candidate with similar views, the perceived front-runner is a Minuteman member named Randy Graf.

In TV ads that began airing Aug. 23, Graf links illegal immigration to drugs, criminals and terrorists. "I fear not only for the safety of my family, but for all Americans. National security begins with border security," Graf says.

At the nation's northern border, Michigan's Republican Senate candidate Mike Bouchard told TV viewers that he was "a 20-year lawman. Anything that starts with illegal I'm going to be against."

And in a highly competitive House race in Iowa, Republican candidate Mike Whalen blasted his primary opponent's immigration record. "Illegal aliens are flooding into our country," a voice in one ad intones. "Why? Because politicians like Bill Dix give them special benefits like lowered tuition costs."

In many areas with tight races, the House leadership has also held summer hearings on immigration that helped highlight the hard-line stance of local Republican candidates.

Democrats say that the GOP emphasis on immigration is misguided.

"It is a major issue, but it's not number one," said Dan Burton, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He cited Iraq, health care and gas prices as other issues that concern voters.

Burton noted that currently only six markets are running with paid ads about immigration, though that will likely increase.

Moreover, Burton said, Republicans are vulnerable on immigration since they have controlled Congress for the last decade.

When Congress reconvenes, both sides are expected to dig in their heels.

Like President Bush, the Senate backs a broad overhaul of immigration laws, including citizenship provisions for undocumented immigrants. The House passed an enforcement-only bill. Staffers say there have been few behind-the-scenes talks to bridge the divide and Democrats in Congress are openly skeptical.

"Without the president seriously engaging and forcing the Republican leadership on the House side to conference, it won't happen," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, commenting on the chances of legislation passing before November.

Boehner spokesman Kevin Madden disagreed. "I wouldn't count it out," he said.

Madden said that the House hearings on immigration held around the country made it clear that the public wants "a bill that puts a premium on enforcement."

The marches -- which include events in Phoenix Monday and Los Angeles on Sept. 9 -- are intended to tell Congress that enforcement is not enough.

The events will kick off in Chicago on Friday, when marchers set out from Chinatown on a four-day, 45-mile walk that will end with a rally at the Batavia, Ill., office of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

On Saturday, the marchers will stop in Dupage County, in a district being vacated by Rep. Henry J. Hyde, R-Ill., and hotly contested by Republican state senator Peter Roskam and Major Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, an Iraq war veteran and the daughter of a Thai immigrant.