Immigration Debate Splits GOP

Fears for party's future amp up rhetoric for and against legalization path for immigrants

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted May 28, 2007 1:13 PM CDT

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Immigration Debate Splits GOP — Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. makes comments about the Iraq war as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, right , watches during the Republican Debate at University of South Carolina's Koger Center for the Arts, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, in Columbia, S.C., during a debate... (Associated Press)

Deep divisions within the GOP over immigration reform have become increasingly bitter in recent weeks, the LA Times reports, with senior figures on both sides engaging in a rare public spat. On one side are those who fear alienating the mostly white conservative base; on the other those who want the party to woo the fast-growing Latino community.

Bush was unusually harsh last week in criticizing conservative opponents of the bipartisan bill that would offer a route to citizenship to illegal immigrants; Rush Limbaugh attacked the Bush-backed plan as the "Destroy the Republican Party Act."
(Read more Bush administration stories.)

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