The push to reach a deal on immigration reform puts Rep. Tom Tancredo squarely in the middle of the debate, as President Bush seeks support from conservatives on a bipartisan Senate bill that would eventually legalize some 12 million undocumented immigrants.
With Republicans split over immigration, Tancredo has been a persistent gadfly to the bill’s backers, lobbing the word “amnesty” into the charged discussion each time Bush or others pitch the legislation as the only workable solution.
A Pew Research Center poll last month indicated 50 percent of Republicans favor allowing illegal immigrants the possibility of citizenship, while 46 percent oppose it. The poll also indicated that 59 percent of Republicans consider immigrants to be a threat to traditional American customs and values.
A recent USA Today/Gallup poll indicated that 78 percent of all Americans favor giving illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship. A New York Times/CBS News poll last week indicated a majority of people from all political parties favor reforms in the Senate bill, which include creating a temporary worker program for some 200,000 foreign laborers a year and restructuring legal immigration to weigh education and job skills over family connections.
