We’ve Come A Long Way From Ellis Island

Immigration, Republicans and 2008

Tom Tancredo, who just entered the race for the Republican nomination, calls them "a scourge that threatens the very future of our nation”; Rudy Giuliani, roughly ten years ago, said that “the reality is that they are here, and they’re going to remain here” - they being illegal immigrants. Both of these statements are examples for how immigration has become a hot topic in the Republican run for the presidency in various ways.

Rudy Giuliani, as mayor of New York City, was known for his view that the city’s great number of immigrants was an integral part of its work force. According to the New York Times, “his aides acknowledged that most voters do not know how aggressive he was as mayor in pressing for ways to allow more immigrants into the country.” His liberal stance might come back to haunt him, as a USA Today/Gallup Poll last month showed that 29 percent of Republicans said that all illegal immigrants should be sent home. Giuliani, these days, is carefully mincing his words around the issue of immigration. His plan for immigration includes issuing identification to illegal immigrants and they should start paying full taxes. If they are serious about becoming citizens, they must “get on the back of the line”. This is an interesting example for how different kinds of audiences cause politicians to change their wording and sometimes even their stances.

One problem for Republican candidates in relation with immigration is their diverse base of core voters – “Business and industry are demanding more low-wage workers, while grass-roots conservatives are demanding that those workers be shipped home,” according to Guardian Unlimited’s Libby Quaid. While the former are likely to be satisfied with the moderate relatively moderate stances of Giuliani, Romney and McCain, this opens up the field for candidates such as Tom Tancredo, a Congressman from Colorado who has launched a long-shot campaign earlier this month. Tancredo, as quoted by the Guardian, laments the “cult of multiculturalism” and, although he himself thinks he is "too fat, too short and too bald" to be president, he has a good number of followers. A GOP aide told Newsweek that "you can't ignore him. The administration doesn't want to hear this, but a lot of Americans think he's right." Now, some Republicans have started to fear that the party is alienating yet another crucial group of voters – Latinos. Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, expresses his fears: "Republicans have made significant gains [among Latinos] and we're risking all of that by allowing ourselves to be positioned as anti-immigrant ... We are at great peril."