THE NATION
Bashing Bush From GOP Stronghold
A conservative Colorado congressman pits himself against the president
over a new immigration proposal.
TANCREDO THOMAS
By David Kelly, Times Staff Writer
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The phone rang and Carol Koeppen picked up.
"Congressman Tancredo's office," she said.
Pause.
"I know you're furious," she replied gently. "A new party? You want to
draft the congressman for president? I'll let him know."
It was call No. 260 in fewer than two days. Angry voters were vowing
to chuck their Republican Party memberships into the nearby South
Platte River over President Bush's proposal Wednesday to allow
millions of undocumented immigrants to work here legally for a period
of time.
Rep. Thomas G. Tancredo stood by the chirping phones in his
powder-blue shirt and "I told you so" smile.
The combative Republican hails from one of the state's major GOP
strongholds, a Bush bastion that voted 60% for the president in 2000.
But in the last two days, Tancredo has shown up on nearly 25 news
programs bashing Bush's new immigration plan for "rewarding illegal
behavior."
"There has never been an issue, never been any kind of event
triggering the kind of response we've had so far," he said. "I don't
think the [administration] understands the depth of feeling and
emotion that surrounds this issue."
Under the proposal, illegal immigrants already here and foreign
workers abroad may apply for a three-year work permit. They can renew
the work permit at least once.
Supporters say it's a realistic way of handling a chronic problem.
Critics on the right think it will encourage illegal immigration,
while those on the left argue that it will leave many immigrants
unable to gain citizenship.
Many on both sides suspect the GOP is simply trying to woo Latino
voters.
Illegal immigration isn't as highly charged an issue in Colorado as it
is in California, but that could change.
The state ranks 10th for numbers of illegal immigrants. The Latino
population in Denver has grown dramatically in the last decade and
stands at 35%. More than half of the city's public school students are
Latino. Census figures show whites are no longer a majority in Denver.
"Denver is typical of what's happening throughout the country," said
Polly Baca, a former Democratic state senator and now executive
director of the Latin American Research & Service Agency in Denver.
"The president made a calculated move," she said. "I don't want to
judge anyone else's motive, especially when they do something I like,
but of course this is political. It's an election year."
If it is political, it's not playing so well here in the state's 6th
Congressional District, a collection of largely affluent Denver
suburbs where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2 to 1
and minorities make up less than 10% of the population.
"This place is like a yuppie bubble," said Derrick Usher, 24, of
Castle Rock as he drank coffee at a Starbucks in Centennial, 12 miles
south of Denver. "I think what President Bush did may be a sort of a
necessary evil, but it looks like he is saying, 'Come on in
everybody.' "
An independent contractor who gave his name only as Luke was more
forceful.
"Close the borders and put the military on them," he said. "How many
people are we supposed to let in, 20 million? My parents emigrated
from the Ukraine in 1950 and they did it legally. They didn't ask to
be taught in Ukrainian either; they learned English."
At first glance, illegal immigrants seem scarce here, but behind the
scenes they are cooking, sweeping, painting and serving.
"Go look in the kitchens and the back rooms," said Jamie Sanchez, 37,
a financial advisor from Centennial.
"I was frustrated at the Kmart the other day because I couldn't find
anyone who spoke English," he said.
His friend Patrick Droogan, 39, said the staff at a nearby Wendy's
fast-food restaurant often baffles him.
"They put people who can't speak English on the drive-through window,"
he said.
Both men said they were Republicans but couldn't summon up much anger
at Bush over his plan.
"Illegal immigration is a fact of life; let's do something about it,"
Sanchez said.
Others were baffled by Tancredo's vehemence.
"This is all window dressing because of the upcoming meeting between
Bush and the president of Mexico," said John Burke, 37, of Highlands
Ranch.
"Tancredo is expending a lot of energy that could be directed on much
more germane subjects," he said. "This is like a vendetta. It
distracts from the core issues we face, like the loss of jobs to other
countries."
Colorado GOP Chairman Ted Halaby said Tancredo has often been at odds
with the White House over immigration.
"There are many, many Republicans who don't agree with him but very
few who don't respect him for willing to go against the mainstream
Republican leadership," he said. "It shows a certain character trait
people admire."
Tancredo, a third-term congressman and former schoolteacher, never
aspired to battle Bush.
"It wasn't my plan when I ran for Congress," he said, sitting in his
district office with a mounted elk head and pheasant staring down at
him.
"It has become me against the president, and it makes me feel uneasy,"
he said. "But there is something more important than my loyalty to the
president. It's my concern for the country."
He said he won't back down.
Tancredo, 58, wants another 20,000 Border Patrol agents along the U.S.
border with Mexico. He also expects the government to target those
hiring illegal immigrants.
And when this is done, he said, he will advocate a guest worker
program with the emphasis on the worker returning to Mexico when the
work is done.
"I think the president looks at our relationship with Mexico and
doesn't think it requires tough borders," he said. "He may also be
motivated by genuinely altruistic attitudes toward immigration. I fear
any of those two motivating factors are dangerous."
Tancredo's stance has made him a minor hero among some in border areas
of the Southwest, where vehicles sport Tancredo bumper stickers and
some Douglas, Ariz., residents have started a movement to draft the
congressman for president.
But elsewhere he's seen as a polarizing figure.
"Tancredo is a strong voice for anti-immigration," said Pablo Salas,
an attorney and former illegal immigrant who lives in Littleton, Colo.
"I think getting media attention is his forte. He taps into anger and
unfortunately that anger is divisive and that's not what we need in
this country now."
But the phones keep ringing in the lawmaker's office.
"You say you want Tancredo for president?" Koeppen asked the caller.
"OK, I'll write that down."
The congressman arched his brow, grinned and slipped out to another
interview.
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