In California, Facing Illegal Immigration

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
NY Times. Published: June 18, 2010

In the closing days of the Republican primary in California, Meg Whitman vowed to get tough on illegal immigrants, and in a radio commercial even brought out a big gun, a former governor, Pete Wilson. He is known for his advocacy of Proposition 187, a 1994 initiative that sought to deny public services to illegal immigrants. It was blocked by a federal court, but remains a sore point with Latino voters. Now, after winning the primary, Ms. Whitman reveals her opposition to the proposal in new Spanish-language television commercials, and embraces concerns dear to Latinos.
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ACCURACY: It is a matter of dispute whether Ms. Whitman’s position on illegal immigration is “crystal clear.” The only thing clear is the ads were aimed at different audiences. California already bars driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, and prohibiting illegal immigrants from attending state-funded colleges is likely to be a tough sell to the Democrat-controlled Legislature. As for the new ad, Ms. Whitman did speak out against the new Arizona law, which gives local police authority to seek the deportation of illegal immigrants, but she did not mention that position in any primary ads. When Proposition 187 was passed, Ms. Whitman was not living in California but she said last year that she would have voted against it.

For full article click here.

For youtube video of Whitman campaign ad click here.

[Posted by Kathy Vega]