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CAMPAIGN 2000
The Fort Worth Star Telegram recently posed a series of questions on immigration to Gov. George W. Bush, to which he provided written answers.  These answers provide some of the first direct information about the candidate’s position on immigration, a topic on which he has been surprisingly silent, given the fact that Texas is both a border state and therefore is impacted more than most by illegal immigration, and is home to many high-tech jobs, for which skilled foreign workers are in high demand.
On illegal immigration, Bush said he supports increased Border Patrol hiring and the continuation of program designed to make it more difficult to cross the border without authorization.  He also said the most important way to reduce illegal immigration from Mexico is to help improve the Mexican economy, thereby giving people less reason to want to come to the US. 
He announced his support for the expansion of both the H-2A agricultural guest worker program and the H-1B skilled worker program.  He also made public his support for the division of the INS into two agencies, one for enforcement and the other for what he called “paperwork.”
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A recent poll of 1005 voters in Iowa, the location of the first caucus in the presidential race, showed that immigration is an important issue for them.  According to the poll, nearly 70% believe that immigration is an issue that should be addressed by the candidates.  62% believe immigration should be reduced from its current levels, and 65% believe that the projected US population in 2050 of 400 million is too large.  This poll is important because of the important role the state of Iowa plays in selecting presidential candidates.  The Iowa caucus is the first official vote cast in the election process, and therefore has a large impact on all future votes.  This year’s caucus will take place in late January.  This poll was sponsored by five organizations, all of which favor decreased immigration – Negative Populations Growth, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Americans for Immigration Control, Populations Environment Balance, and NumbersUSA.  These groups are also running ads across Iowa urging reduced levels of immigration.  One series of ads, sponsored by FAIR, was pulled by the local TV station, on grounds that it was “inflammatory.”