Schwarzenegger, facing re-election, shifts warily on immigration , ... struggles to win popularity

LOS ANGELES – Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger backed a federal plan to build a stretch of border fence between San Diego and Tijuana. This week, he said walling off hundreds of miles of the California-Mexico border is a strategy from the Stone Age.

It's not the only example of his complex – and sometimes shifting – views on illegal immigration, an issue that has given rise to a national movement during his time in office.

California's governor certainly should have a role in the debate over leaky borders and the not-so-invisible illegal labor economy. The state has more illegal immigrants than any other – an estimated 2.4 million, more than the population of Nebraska. And Schwarzenegger is one of America's most visible immigrants and often talks of his immigrant history.

But his positions also reflect the state's immigration politics and the popularity-challenged governor's struggle to win a second term; a recent Field Poll found just 36 percent of voters are inclined to re-elect the governor.

In the 1990s, he supported a ballot proposition to deny illegal immigrants many basic services, including public education and nonemergency health care. Today, Schwarzenegger says the fight over illegal immigration is at the borders, “not in our schools and not in our hospitals.”

Recently he stressed that the economy needs “a free flow of people” to thrive; he also embraces the Minuteman movement, which warns of a nation “plundered by the menace of tens of millions of invading illegal aliens.”

The governor's “schizophrenic view” mirrors divisions among voters and within Schwarzenegger's party, said independent pollster Mark DiCamillo. One statewide survey yesterday ranked immigration as the most important issue in the state, overshadowing even education.

“I think you will see a bigger-than-expected turnout among Latinos because of this one issue,” said DiCamillo, noting Latinos are the state's fastest-growing voting bloc.

As part of his campaign strategy, Schwarzenegger needs to lure Latinos, a traditionally Democratic-leaning group, but he also must consider Republican conservatives who want a border clampdown. And then there's the state's multibillion-dollar agriculture industry – a powerful political force that relies on a steady supply of low-priced labor.

Schwarzenegger has said he favors a temporary worker program, an approach the U.S. Senate has debated, but has said little about how such a plan should work. He does not support blanket amnesty, and thinks it's impractical to consider deporting millions of illegal immigrants.

Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said the governor has laid out a consistent policy proposal on immigration, but said it is Congress' job to hammer out details.

The state has more illegal immigrants than any other – an estimated 2.4 million,

Nearly 40% of California's K -12 public education students have Hispanic surnames. Of those approximately 85% can attribute their heritage to illegal immigration since 1965.

That's about 2.1M children alone. Add in two generations of adults and those folks who have sneaked in during the last five years and the number is conservatively well over 10M residents in California that are a consequence of illegal immigration.

The consequences of illegal immigrating, principally Mexican, is the 400 lb gorilla that roams California, consuming nearly 50% of California's social safety net. It is the taxpayer's single biggest expense. None but a few inside government will even acknowledge its existence. It is the mythical big foot from a political standpoint. Infrequently seen, rarely addressed and shrouded in mystery.

Illegal immigration continues to quietly chew away California's annual budget while the state's executive and legislature argue over levees, dams and freeways.

I just posted the full transcript of the Stephopoulos interview. On immigration, Arnold is all over the place. Now he is for earned citizenship for those who have been "been great citizens". ???

STEPHANOPOULOS: Another bit issue that Washington has been dealing with is immigration. You've been outspoken on it as well. You wrote in the Wall Street Journal that we have to base any solution on two principles: control of the border and compassion for immigrants. I want to flush that out a little bit. When you talk about control of the border one of the big proposals out there is, in the house, they want a 700 mile wall down across the southern border. Are you for that?
SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, I think that it would be ludicrous to limit yourself to just building a wall. I mean, we're going back to the Stone Ages here. I mean, we are landing man on the moon, and we are in outer space and we are doing all of those great things. I think there is other technology that we can secure the borders. If I say now, yes, let's build a wall, but what prevents you from building a tunnel. How many tunnels have been built in these last 10 years? I mean we've detected tunnels left and right that people just drive trucks through. And there are air conditioned systems in these tunnels and water flow and food supply and everything. I think that it is crazy to think a wall alone will do it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You've also talked about compassion for immigrants. And President Bush, Senator McCain, Senator Kennedy all look at that principle and say we need a path to earned citizenship. If you're here illegally, that you but pay back taxes, pay a fine, wait in line, work hard, you should be able to become a citizen. Do you agree with that?
SCHWARZENEGGER: I agree that there should be a way to earn your citizenship, especially people that have been here for a long time, people that have contributed to our economy, that have contributed to our society, they have done community work, they been great citizens. I think we should give them a chance for redemption and for, you know, earning their way in by paying, doing more community work and all of those things and passing a test, a language test, a citizenship test, and all of those things. Yes. We should. Because the other thing that people talk about which is let's send them all back. I mean think about that. How do you do that logistically? How does that work? To send 12 million people back. It would cost $500 Billion dollars. Who's gonna pay for that? I mean it's ludicrous to think this way.
STEPHANOPOULOS: As you know, the critics of earned citizenship call it amnesty. Just in March you wrote in the LA Times "granting citizenship to people that are here illegally is not just amnesty, it's anarchy." So you have changed your view?
SCHWARZENEGGER: No. Not at all. I don't believe in amnesty at all. I think that amnesty doesn't work. I think that's why I said one has to be able to earn their citizenship. There's a difference between just, you know, saying from now on, you know, 12 million can stay here and we will give you citizenship. That's amnesty.

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