Republicans sharply split over immigration

The Pentagon says it will start running out of money for the war in Iraq by early May. But as the Senate took up an $80 billion emergency funding measure for US military efforts, debate on the floor last week turned to the need to raise quotas for seasonal workers to shuck oysters for the seafood industry.

It's one sign of how politically sensitive policies on immigration are now coming to the forefront - and exposing rifts within the Republican Party.

After months of stalling a debate on immigration, President Bush and GOP leaders in Congress now must face the divisive issue on several fronts, from proposals for tighter policies on driver's licenses to allowing more guest workers into the US.

Whether the goal is getting tougher or more flexible, policymakers are confronted with difficult choices involving national security, economics, and the the rising prominence of Hispanic Americans in the nation's politics.

For Republicans, who now control both ends of Pennsylvania avenue, immigration has long been an especially divisive issue. Many conservatives see the presence of some 8 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants as a serious breach of the rule of law as well as a burden to states and localities paying the cost of providing education and health services for them. "What part of 'illegal' don't you understand?" is the mantra for the get-tough wing of the party.

At the same time, President Bush's success in winning over Hispanic voters is reinforcing calls for a historic shift in the GOP stance on immigration. In early 2004, the president outlined principles for comprehensive immigration reform, including a guest-worker program and a path to legality for undocumented workers already in the country.

A recent poll by Republican consultant Ed Goeas signals that some 25 percent of voters support such a plan, 25 percent oppose it, and 50 percent are undecided. Some 80 percent of voters say it's unrealistic to deport some 10 million illegals.

"The fight now is to win over that 50 percent," says Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, who is making the case for reform to conservatives. "In the past, the debate over immigration was about open borders or closed, high numbers or low. We're now seeing a new middle in the Republican Party that recognizes that immigrants are good for the country, but that we need to bring them here in a controlled manner that enhances our security."

Indeed, neither major party wants to be cast as anti-immigrant, especially in an era of growing Hispanic clout.

Still, concern about porous borders rankles many Americans - symbolized by the mobilization of volunteer "minutemen" to patrol a portion of the Arizona border this month.

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