Luis Gutierrez

Key Democrat Praises Rubio's 'Sincere Conversion' On Immigration Reform

Sahil Kapur | May 23, 2012, 5:49AM

An election-year effort by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to advance a scaled-back DREAM Act is drawing praise from Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), the Democrats' most vocal crusader for comprehensive immigration reform.

"The problem [on immigration reform] has never been the Democratic Party. The problem has been Republican votes," Gutiérrez told TPM in an interview Tuesday. "And Rubio is the first light reaching out of the tunnel. So I wish him success."

Rubio has yet to release his bill, but he says it will offer legal residency to some undocumented immigrants raised in the United States and give them the opportunity to seek citizenship through the regular channels.

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DREAM Act

Are Democrats Falling For Rubio's Trap On The DREAM Act?

Sahil Kapur | May 14, 2012, 4:42AM

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)

As he prepares to release his scaled-back version of the DREAM Act, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is simultaneously laying the groundwork to blame the White House for its impending failure -- and Democrats appear to be falling into his trap. It's election-year jujitsu for Rubio, who is helping the GOP court Hispanic voters and keeping the door open to the vice presidency.

"One of the things that has already been documented is that the White House has been -- the articles that have been written, two or three by now -- the White House has been calling in DREAM Act advocates and asking them, almost ordering them, not to work with me on this issue," Rubio told Laura Ingraham last Thursday on her radio show. "They have been counting on using this issue as a wedge issue in October to drive up turnout."

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Marco Rubio

White House To Rubio: Don't Blame Obama If Your DREAM Act Fails

Sahil Kapur | April 30, 2012, 5:55AM

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FLA).

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is angling to blame President Obama for the looming failure of his watered-down DREAM Act, and the White House is strongly objecting to that implication, insisting that Rubio's problem is with his own party, not the president.

"The notion that somehow the president or Democrats would be the roadblock to any progress on immigration is ridiculous," a White House official told TPM. "If this proposal fails, the reason will be the Republicans."

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied Rubio's charge that the White House has been "actively trying to torpedo my efforts" on a compromise DREAM Act, as Roll Call reported. The aide said the White House would need to see an actual proposal before weighing in.

"We can't speculate on what may or may not be in the proposal. There is no proposal," the official said. "So there's nothing that we can be trying to torpedo."

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Immigration

Ariz. Law Backers Have Reason For Hope After Supreme Court Arguments

Sahil Kapur | April 25, 2012, 1:12PM

Arizona SB 1070 boycott immigration

By the end of Wednesday's Supreme Court oral arguments on the constitutionality of Arizona's immigration law, there was renewed hope for the law's backers that at least some aspects of it might survive, although no clear majority emerged one way or another.

Justice Antonin Scalia led the charge among justices inclined to agree with Arizona. He passionately argued that the Constitution provides states the authority to craft immigration policy to protect their borders -- an argument at odds with longstanding precedent.

"What does sovereignty mean if it does not include the ability to defend your borders? The states can police their borders," Scalia said, suggesting that the White House opposes the law because it "does not want [immigration] law enforced rigorously."

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Immigration

Will The Supreme Court Quash Arizona's Immigration Law?

Sahil Kapur | April 23, 2012, 11:57AM

Lest anyone think the Supreme Court is done playing with political dynamite this year: Next up, the Obama administration asks the justices to quash Arizona's immigration law, a measure that has sparked intense protests, boycotts and even rap songs.

The high court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on whether the state's tough law -- which permits police to check people's legal status during lawful encounters, and makes it a crime to look for work without legal status -- passes the constitutional test. Lower courts have sided with the administration and blocked its key provisions.

"This should be an easy case for the federal government," said Adam Winkler, a professor at UCLA School of Law. "Under longstanding precedent, the federal government has plenary authority over immigration. Yet here Arizona has imposed its own view of how immigration law should be enforced."

The core legal question is the extent to which states are empowered to make immigration laws, a turf constitutionally reserved for the federal government. The administration argues that Arizona's law coerces it to take a harder line on undocumented immigrants. Gov. Jan Brewer's legal team frames the statute as an effort to cooperatively assist the federal government in dealing with an immigration system that is widely regarded as broken.

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Immigration

GOP Obscures Its Role In Blocking Immigration Reform

Sahil Kapur | April 22, 2012, 1:35PM

President Obama's senior campaign adviser David Axelrod pushed back Sunday on Republicans for highlighting the lack of comprehensive immigration reform as a failed Obama promise. The president's ongoing squabble with the GOP on this issue is indicative of how the two camps are trying to court Hispanic voters ahead of the election.

"To say because you have an implacable group of Republicans in the Congress who simply aren't to let that move, that the president hasn't kept his promise, is a little bit disingenuous," Axelrod said on CNN's State of the Union. "The president has tried to get [immigration reform], he has initiated those actions. I was in the room when he called together Republicans and Democrats who have been active for immigration reform in the past. ... And the president said I will work with you to get this done. Not one of those Republicans was willing to stand up and work with him to pass the bill."

Hispanic voters are upset that Obama didn't push harder for immigration reform in his first two years, when he had large Democratic majorities. But they're more vexed with Republicans, who have used their clout in Congress to thwart multiple efforts by Democrats to advance the cause. Now, heading into a presidential election with a sizable deficit among Hispanic voters, a key part of the GOP's -- and Mitt Romney's -- damage-control strategy is to obscure their own role and instead blame Obama.

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Barack Obama

President Obama's Uncle Arrested And Held As An Illegal Immigrant

Jillian Rayfield | August 29, 2011, 5:32PM

President Barack Obama (D)

An uncle of President Obama was arrested in Framingham, MA last week for drunk driving, and detained as an illegal immigrant, according to CNN.

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Rick Perry

Rick Perry: Illegal Immigrants Who Serve In The Military Deserve Citzenship

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 20, 2011, 2:32PM

Mexican President Vicente Fox and Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

ROCK HILL, SC -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) spoke for a few minutes to reporters here about his views on immigration, which have gotten him into some hot water with the conservative base he hopes to woo as his presidential campaign spools up. What he offered up was a little something for everyone.

Perry said states should be responsible for their own immigration laws, also stating that the federal government must step up border enforcement. He also spelled out his support for a national program that would allow illegal immigrants who serve in the military to become citizens.

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2012

Rick Perry's Immigration Journey Could Haunt Presidential Race

Benjy Sarlin | August 9, 2011, 6:00AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

In August 2001, Governor Rick Perry stopped by Edinburg, Texas, to deliver a speech before a gathering of Mexican and United States officials on issue related to the border. Emphasizing the cultural and economic connections between the two nations, Perry called for new investment in infrastructure and an easing of restrictions on border traffic to further deepen ties. He also took a moment to tout a groundbreaking new law that allowed children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition at Texas universities.

"We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, 'we don't care where you come from, but where you are going, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get there.'" he said. "And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That's why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate. Those young minds are a part of a new generation of leaders, the doors of higher education must be open to them. The message is simple: educacion es el futuro, y si se puede."

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2012

Democrats Look To Protect Latino Vote From GOP Outreach

Benjy Sarlin | July 22, 2011, 1:34PM

DNC TV Ad "En quien confiar"

Democrats are looking to put the kibosh on conservative outreach efforts to Latino voters before they start.

The DNC's first major ad buy of the season is a Spanish-language ad running in areas with high concentrations of Latino voters around the country. The new spot comes just two days after the Republican National Committee and Karl Rove's Super PAC, American Crossroads, launched their own ad campaigns aimed at the key Democratic voting bloc in battleground states like Florida and Colorado.

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DREAM Act

Senate Democrats Renew Push For DREAM Act

Megan Reback | June 28, 2011, 5:03PM

Seeking to breathe new life into its prospects, on Tuesday Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) chaired the first-ever Senate hearing on the DREAM Act. The bill, which was initially proposed in different form in 2001, would grant citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants who "have maintained good moral character since entering the U.S.," and who either attend college or serve in the U.S. armed forces.

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Immigration

Senators Look To Put Immigration Back On The Front Burner

Benjy Sarlin | June 23, 2011, 7:10AM

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)

Comprehensive immigration reform has about as much chance of passing right now as an asteroid-sized kidney stone, while even more modest measures, like the DREAM Act, are stalled in Congress. Nonetheless, Democrats are doing their best to keep the issue in the national conversation.

Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Pat Leahy (D-VT), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a joint press conference on Wednesday to prod lawmakers into negotiating a bipartisan bill, and introduced their own bill to get talks moving. The bill would follow the familiar formula that's been tried unsuccessfully since President Bush's own legislative push -- an increase in enforcement measures coupled with a path to citizenship for undocumented workers.

They got an unexpected boost on Wednesday from journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who penned a widely read New York Times piece in which he revealed he was an undocumented immigrant who had hid his status for years growing up and building his career in America. He is now an advocate for the DREAM act, which would give a path to citizenship to illegal immigrants who, like Vargas, came to America as children and have either gone to college or served in the military in the states. In another encouraging development, Southern Baptist Convention recently drafted a resolution calling for comprehensive reform.

Menendez, one of the chief proponents of the DREAM Act in the Senate, told TPM that he had yet to read Vargas' article but that his experience was illustrative of the problems the legislation seeks to address.

"From what I understand of the story, it speaks volumes about how an incredible individual contributing to American society has to live with the fear of [being] an undocumented worker," he said.

With major legislation unlikely to come anytime soon, Menendez told reporters that he and the rest of the Hispanic Caucus recently urged President Obama in a meeting to help mitigate some of the issues they hoped to eventually solve in Congress using executive orders. One step would be to suspend deportations for illegal immigrants in who would be affected by the DREAM Act's passage to allow them to complete their college education or military service. Another proposal was suspending deportations for families from Juarez in response to ongoing deadly battles between police and drug gangs.

"If those two administrative elements were given together it would certainly not solve our problem, but it would provide some relief," he said.

Latino voters are crucial to Obama's re-election prospects, and the White House has been redoubling its efforts to court the key constituency in recent weeks. Obama recently took a rare presidential trip to Puerto Rico, which has a large diaspora population in swing states like Florida.

John McCain

John McCain Blames Illegal Immigrants For Arizona Fires

Benjy Sarlin | June 20, 2011, 2:52PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

John McCain is pushing back against accusations of fearmongering after blaming illegal immigrants for starting fires in Arizona.

"There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally," Sen. McCain (R-AZ) told reporters on Saturday at a press conference. "The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border."'

Arizona is in the midst of battling a pair of huge blazes, the Horseshoe 2 fire and the more recent Wallow fire. Spokesmen for the forest service and for the federal group managing the disaster both told ABC News that while the ongoing Wallow fire was "human" caused, there was no evidence illegal immigrants were involved. The cause of the Horseshoe 2 fire is listed as "human," but that's as specific as it gets.

Immigrant rights groups jumped on McCain's remarks, saying that the Senator was whipping up nativist sentiment with his response.

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Immigration

Senate Democrats Return To DREAM Act Despite Long Odds

Benjy Sarlin | May 11, 2011, 12:20PM

Following up on President Obama's new focus on immigration reform, Senate Democrats are renewing a drive to pass the DREAM Act, a bill that would grant a path to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants who attend college or serve in the military.

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Immigration

Obama Tries to Revive Far-Reaching Immigration Reform

Susan Crabtree | May 10, 2011, 6:00AM

President Barack Obama

President Obama will deliver a speech in Texas Tuesday intended to revive interest in a far-reaching approach to immigration, one of the nation's most divisive political issues.

The White House hopes to use the speech to "create a sense of urgency in Congress and the nation," according to a senior administration official. With a divided Congress and fewer advocates for comprehensive immigration than in 2007, the last time Congress tried to push through a comprehensive immigration solution, the speech undoubtedly will do more to reaffirm Obama's commitment to a key voting block in 2012 than to gain any legislative traction on Capitol Hill.

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Immigration

Anti-Immigration Groups Give GOP Free Pass on Border Security Cuts

Benjy Sarlin | April 18, 2011, 11:26AM

US Border Patrol personnel at US-Mexico border fence

You might expect anti-immigration groups to be in an uproar over spending cuts contained in the recent budget deal, like a $226 million cut to Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology or $97 million in cuts to IT modernization programs at Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In fact, the cuts have generated barely a peep from border hawks, who have given the GOP a free pass even after years of campaigning for increased resources.

According to Rosemary Jenks, director of government affairs for NumbersUSA, her group is not protesting any of the reductions in spending. Nor will any Republicans be penalized in their annual grades for voting for them.

"For an administration that's decided it's not a priority, it doesn't make sense to throw money at them," Jenks told TPM in an interview before Congress agreed to a final spending deal.

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Iowa

Iowa County Cancels Drill That Drew Ire Of Anti-Immigration Groups

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 25, 2011, 3:30PM

A planned disaster drill aimed at testing the readiness of emergency services in southwestern Iowa to deal with a school shooting has been canceled, after threats phoned into schools and days of criticism. Anti-immigrant groups claimed the exercise painted them in an unfair light.

The Pottawatomie County, IA Emergency Management Agency designed the exercise, which simulated a school shooting by racist students. The goal of the exercise, according to one official behind the plan, was to "prepare for a worst-case scenario to build our capacity for such an event and to test any gaps in our response system."

But anti-immigration groups said the real plan was to paint them as armed and dangerous. That's when the Internet ire, and eventually the threats phoned into public schools in Pottowatomie, began.

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Kansas

Kansas GOPer: Let's Shoot Illegal Immigrants Like Pigs

Jillian Rayfield | March 14, 2011, 6:29PM

State Rep. Virgil Peck (R-KS)

Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck (R) suggested Monday that the best way to deal with the illegal immigration problem may be the same way the state might deal with the problem of "feral hogs" -- by shooting them from a helicopter.

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Immigration

Arming ICE Agents Divides Obama, Holder

Susan Crabtree | March 3, 2011, 3:04PM

President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder

There appears to be some light between President Obama's position on arming Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while in Mexico and that of Attorney General Eric Holder, the nation's top law enforcement official, just three weeks after ICE agent Jaime Zapata was shot to death in northern Mexico with a gun smuggled in from the U.S.

After a White House meeting between Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Obama seemed to convey a reluctance to arm ICE agents while they are traveling in Mexico.

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Jeff Flake

GOPer Flake Takes The High Road On Possible Giffords Senate Run

Susan Crabtree | February 16, 2011, 3:30PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who announced his Senate bid this week, is taking the high road when it comes to the possibility of a general election match-up against the rapidly and remarkably recovering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

"The most wonderful thing in the world would be to have her make a Senate run," Flake told TPM in an interview Tuesday.

While Flake declined to discuss whether he could beat her in a head-to-head Senate race, he said a Giffords' Senate run in 2012 would be an incredible and welcome development.

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Haley Barbour

Barbour Denies Lobbying On Behalf Of Mexico For 'Amnesty'

Jillian Rayfield | February 15, 2011, 10:12AM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

Gov. Haley Barbour has denied reports that he and his former lobbying firm worked to promote a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the U.S. on behalf of the Mexican government, saying in a statement that he "never advocated amnesty for illegal aliens."

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Haley Barbour

Report: Haley Barbour Lobbied On Behalf Of Mexico For 'Amnesty'

Jillian Rayfield | February 14, 2011, 12:21PM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

If Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour decides to run for President in 2012, he may have to answer for his record on immigration.

Michael Scherer of Time's Swampland blog reports that Barbour's former lobbying firm, Griffith & Rogers, lobbied on behalf of the Embassy of Mexico in 2001 to promote a bill related to Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the United States, through family connections or job skills, without a requirement that they return to their home country for the requisite 3-10 years. This is what's often referred to as "amnesty."

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George W. Bush

Bush Warns U.S. Is Becoming 'Nativist' (VIDEO)

David Taintor | February 7, 2011, 10:10AM

Fmr. President George W. Bush

Former President George W. Bush said recently he is concerned the U.S. is returning to a 'nativist' mindset.

To explain his concern, Bush spoke of three recurring "isms" in America: "One is isolationism, and its evil twin, protectionism, and its evil triplet, nativism," Bush said at Southern Methodist University in Dallas late last month.

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Birthright citizenship

Vitter, Rand Paul Propose Amendment To Pare Back Birthright Citizenship

Eric Kleefeld | January 27, 2011, 2:37PM

Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) & Rand Paul (R-KY)

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) have now teamed up -- and they're aiming very high. The two have proposed a constitutional amendment, to get rid of birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.

From their joint press release, their proposal will declare "a person born in the United States to illegal aliens does not automatically gain citizenship unless at least one parent is a legal citizen, legal immigrant, active member of the Armed Forces or a naturalized legal citizen."

I sought clarification from Vitter's office as to whether this would be a full-fledged amendment to the Constitution, or a lesser legislative route. It is indeed a proposed amendment to the Constitution.

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Lamar Smith

White House Signals Intent To Work With GOP On Their Immigration Ideas

Jillian Rayfield | December 29, 2010, 8:45AM

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

Immigration groups eager to see reform might not have been happy with Rep. Lamar Smith's (R-TX) proposal to expand the E-Verify program, but they're unlikely to be any more pleased with the White House's response to it. President Obama has previously expressed support for the program, and the White House today left open the possibility of working to achieve Smith's vision.

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Lame duck sesion

Top 5 Lame Duck Losers For 2010

Brian Beutler | December 24, 2010, 8:27AM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Until the next Congress starts, the media will have little to prattle on about besides the Democrats lame duck accomplishments. Already lost in the coverage are two key facts: 1.) The Dems' victories came at the expense of Republicans, many of whom really blew it these past few weeks; and 2.) The Democrats didn't win everything.

Here's our list of the lame duck's top five losers.

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Barack Obama

Top 5 Lame Duck Winners For 2010

Brian Beutler | December 24, 2010, 8:25AM

President Barack Obama

Republicans attacked it as a perversion of democracy, and used it as an excuse to continue to vote against Dem priorities. Democrats recognized it as their last chance to accomplish much of anything for the next two years. People in the media mistook it for a Barack Obama renaissance.

Certainly Democrats accomplished more than most people expected they would these last several weeks. But between the victories and the compromises and the defeats, it's hard to keep track of who came out on top.

Here's a list of the lame duck's big winners to help you sort it all out.

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DREAM Act

Poll: Majority Of Americans Would Vote For DREAM Act

Jon Terbush | December 10, 2010, 10:00AM

The Senate may be deadlocked over what to do with the DREAM Act in the lame duck session, but if the general public were able to vote on the immigration bill, at least one poll suggests it would pass.

According to a new Gallup poll, a narrow majority of Americans would vote to pass the DREAM Act. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they favored the measure -- which would grant legal residency to illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children if they graduate high school and complete two years of college or military service -- while 42% said they were opposed.

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Lame duck sesion

Poll: Americans See Tax Issues As Top Priority For Lame-Duck Congress

Marc Kilstein | November 23, 2010, 3:37PM

Above all else, Americans are hoping for the lame-duck Congress to sort out some tax issues, according to a newly released USA Today/Gallup poll.

The latest survey asked respondents to rate the importance of six different issues that are being considered by Congress during its lame-duck session. The issues were:

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14th Amendment

Steve King Lays Out Plan To Abolish Birthright Citizenship

Eric Kleefeld | November 23, 2010, 11:01AM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

Rep. Steve King (R-IA), the staunch opponent of illegal immigration who is set to become the chairman of a key subcommittee on immigration, is setting his sights on the right-wing cause of ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants -- which many experts say would be unconstitutional.

And, as King told the local paper Cityview, his plan is to pass a statute anyway, and if it gets overruled in the courts, to then step up the effort to a constitutional amendment:

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NV-SEN

Angle Ad: Reid On Illegal Immigrants' Side, 'Not Yours' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | October 25, 2010, 4:55PM

Ad from candidate for U.S. Senate Sharron Angle (R-NV), "The Wave"

Nevada Republican Senate nominee Sharron Angle has a new ad, pushing further on a theme she's been hammering for some time: That Democrat Harry Reid is friendly to scary illegal immigrants, harming good law-abiding (white) Americans and their children.

"Waves of illegal aliens streaming across our border, joining violent gangs, forcing families to live in fear," the announcer says. "And what's Harry Reid doing about it? Voting to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits, tax breaks, and college tuition. Voting against declaring English our national language -- twice. And even sided with Obama and the President of Mexico to block Arizona's tough new immigration law. Harry Reid, it's clear whose side he's on -- and it's not yours."

As with a previous ad, the victims of illegal immigration -- in this case the families living in fear, and kindergarteners who won't grow up in an America where English is the only official language -- all appear to be white, and stand in stark contrast to the dark-skinned criminals illegally coming from the Mexican border.

The TPM Poll Average gives Angle a lead of 48.5%-47.4%.

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Latinos for Reform

Maker Of Ad Telling Latinos Not To Vote Has Long History In GOP (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 19, 2010, 1:20PM

The man behind a new Spanish-language ad, encouraging Nevada Latinos not to vote is a veteran of Republican politics and now an advocate for what most would consider conservative, business-friendly immigration policy.

In an interview with TPM, Robert de Posada, founder of Latinos for Reform, said he's become equally disgruntled with both parties. His current goal, though, is to punish Democrats for failing to deliver on a promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform. And his CV includes a long list of affiliations with conservative immigration reform groups.

In 1994, according to de Posada, he helped create the Hispanic Business Roundtable, which later became the Latino Coalition, where he was president until 2007. He served as co-director with Dick Armey on Americans for Border and Economic Security, on George W. Bush's Social Security Commission, and as director of Hispanic affairs at the Republican National Committee until becoming disgruntled with the GOP and settling into conservative advocacy.

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David Vitter

Religious And Ethnic Coalition Presses Vitter To Take Down And Apologize For Insensitive Ad

Brian Beutler | October 19, 2010, 10:12AM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

If constituent anger is any indication, the most truly offensive campaign ad this season comes from David Vitter featuring actors playing illegal immigrants, sneaking into the country to a welcoming parade and a big fat taxpayer check, thanks, supposedly, to the liberal politics of his opponent, Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA)

A coalition of about two dozen high-profile religious and ethnic leaders in the state was so put off by the segment that they've asked Vitter in a letter and a petition to take it down and apologize.

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NV-SEN

Angle To Latino Students: 'Some Of You Look A Little More Asian To Me'

Eric Kleefeld | October 18, 2010, 12:40PM

Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R)

While speaking to a group of Latino students on the virtues of America as a melting pot, Republican Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle said that some of the students looked Asian to her.

As Jon Ralston reports:

"So that's what we want is a secure and sovereign nation and, you know, I don't know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me. I don't know that. [Note: it's the Hispanic Student Union. The whole room is Hispanic teenagers.] What we know, what we know about ourselves is that we are a melting pot in this country. My grandchildren are evidence of that. I'm evidence of that. I've been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly."

That last comment, about her being called the first Asian legislator? I have no idea what she is talking about.

I'm honestly not sure whether this particular gaffe qualifies as being racist, or just clueless.

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NV-SEN

Angle: 'Illegal Aliens' In My Ads Might Not Be Latinos -- They Could Be Terrorists

Eric Kleefeld | October 18, 2010, 12:05PM

Ad from candidate for U.S. Senate Sharron Angle (R-NV), "Thanks, Pal"

Sharron Angle now has an interesting explanation for her recent campaign ads on immigration, which have prominently featured images of Latinos labeled as "illegal aliens": They might not be Latinos, or even "illegal aliens" from Mexico at all -- they might be terrorists sneaking in from the Canadian border.

As Jon Ralston reports, Angle was speaking to a group of Hispanic children at Rancho High School, and she was asked about the use of images of Latinos in her ads.

"I think that you're misinterpreting those commercials," Angle responded. "I'm not sure that those are Latinos in that commercial. What it is, is a fence and there are people coming across that fence. What we know is that our northern border is where the terrorists came through."

[TPM SLIDESHOW - 'Showdown In Searchlight': Tea Partiers Rally To Boot Harry Reid]

It should of course, be noted that the most notable recent Angle ad on this subject, which had the "Illegal Aliens" caption, had nothing to do with terrorism, but was about Harry Reid allegedly voting to give Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants. In addition, the American workers and college students being ripped off by illegal immigrants all appeared to be white.

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