US Democratic presidential candidate, Sen.
Barack Obama (D-IL) is joined by entertainer and talk show host
Oprah Winfrey (R), as he addresses a campaign rally in Des Moines,
Iowa, Dec. 8, 2007.?
The immigration policy reform has become more important for the
current US presidential race than ever, as candidates from both
parties are trying to strike the right balance on the controversial
and sensitive issue, political analysts said.
A recent public opinion survey showed just how significant the
immigration issue has become, with 81 percent of Americans saying
they believe the issue is important.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll also underscored
the issue's divisiveness: one in three respondents say most social
services should be denied to illegal immigrants, while three in
five support giving them a path to citizenship with certain
caveats.
Immigration reform continues to be one of the most contentious
issues in the Unties States, as the Congress failed to pass a
comprehensive immigration bill earlier this year while the country
still depends on millions of illegal immigrants as a pivotal part
of its workforce.
Perhaps no moment in the presidential campaign has underlined
the complexities of the thorny issue better than last month's clash
of words between Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and
Rudy Giuliani during a campaign debate.
Romney accused the former New York City mayor of making his city
a safe haven for illegal immigrants, while Giuliani said his
opponent employed them at his Massachusetts home.
The debate exposed a dilemma that all presidential candidates
face: They can't afford to look soft on illegal immigration, but in
the meantime they can't ignore the fact that illegal immigrants
play an important role in the US economy.
Republicans are known to have an aggressive approach by
proposing to deny federal funds to cities that do not enforce
immigration laws, while Democrats try to appear neither too soft
nor too harsh on the issue, proposing plans to secure borders but
provide paths toward citizenship, analysts said.
Disputes among candidates on the immigration issue like that
between Romney and Giuliani could hurt their campaigns, as such
exchange of words focused more on the candidates discrediting each
other than on proposing solutions, according to political analyst
Tony Quinn.
Quinn, co-editor of the California Target Book, a non-partisan
analysis of state politics, said that Republican candidates risk
having their tough stands on illegal immigration construed as
anti-Latino.
Statistics show that more than half of the estimated 11 million
illegal immigrants living in this country are of Latino descent,
with the majority of them coming from Mexico.
Meanwhile, Latinos, who comprise about 15 percent of the US
population of 301 million and about 9 percent of the electorate,
could make a change in the country's political landscape if they
turn out against Republicans.
Analysts say American voters want someone who can solve problems
across party lines especially on the immigration issue, which has
become more heated in many parts of the country that have seen
increasing numbers of immigrants.
(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2007)
