On the Border : U.S. Senate Candidates Focus on Policy to Combat Illegal Immigration

It’s no coincidence that more U.S. Senate candidates have visited a windy, isolated ridge overlooking the Mexican border this year than have passed through Bakersfield or Santa Maria.

The Otay Mesa looks down on a well-trodden crossing for illegal entry into the United States, and the border issue has assumed a special place in the Republican campaign for the nomination in Tuesday’s primary.

Hardly a campaign event passes where the subject doesn’t come up, even 500 miles north of the border in Redding where state Sen. Ed Davis was asked by local Rotarians this week to explain his position on immigration policy. Interest is particularly high closer to the border in Orange County and in San Diego, where the candidates are scheduled to gather Saturday for a final debate at the City Club.

Polling conducted for Mike Antonovich, who has hit hardest at the issue, suggests that illegal immigration elicits a gut-level reaction from Republicans that reminds some of the strong feelings exhibited by voters in favor of the death penalty and property tax reform.

“I don’t think it’s quite to that fever pitch, but it’s getting there,” said Sal Russo, a Sacramento campaign consultant for Gov. George Deukmejian and Antonovich. “It could potentially become a very angry issue.”

The poll done for Antonovich found that Republicans look more favorably on candidates who promise to solve the border problem than office-seekers who actively oppose the reconfirmation of California Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird, a favorite target of Republican candidates this year.

Only Antonovich, a Los Angeles County supervisor, has sought to turn the illegal alien issue into a centerpiece of his campaign. He has aired a television commercial filmed at the Otay Mesa border area that links the nightly crossing there of 1,000 or more aliens to drug trafficking and terrorism. Antonovich has also said he favors using troops to back up the Border Patrol and deporting U.S. citizens who were born here of illegal parents, and at most campaign forums he repeats a claim that welfare for the American children of illegals costs Los Angeles County $130 million a year.

He has staked out the most militant position, but not without some cost. Roman Catholic Archbishop Roger M. Mahony in Los Angeles asked Antonovich to cancel the television commercial on grounds it was offensive, and an aide on Thursday clarified that the county pays only about $5 million in welfare to the children of illegals each year. The rest is borne by the federal government, which several studies have shown collects more taxes from illegal immigrants than are paid out in aid programs.

Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, who trails the front-runners in the poll, has joined Antonovich in calling for a change in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, passed after the Civil War, that makes citizens of all persons born in the United States.

All of the other hopefuls have called for increased Border Patrol staffing, but they split on such nuances as employer penalties, guest-worker programs and amnesty for illegals who already reside here.

Contenders Differ

The leading contenders in recent polls differ on some points. Former conservative television commentator Bruce Herschensohn opposes employer penalties, border troops and amnesty, while Rep. Ed Zschau would consider amnesty and employer penalties.

Zschau’s campaign manager, Ron Smith, said Thursday that the issue may not be as volatile as some Republican advisers suspect. “It’s important, but it’s not one of the biggies,” Smith said.

However, candidate Robert Naylor made sure to mention his exploits at the border during a debate Thursday in Los Angeles.

“I toured the border a few months ago,” Naylor said. “I saw the illegal aliens massing at nightfall, I helped apprehend two. We need a strong policy.”

Times political writer John Balzar contributed to this story.