Immigration a 2006 Campaign Issue?

From Pennsylvania (Thanks to Jill Family):

Suddenly, Senate race is all about immigration Post a Comment By Tom Infield

Relatively speaking, Pennsylvania isn’t much of a magnet for today’s generation of immigrants, mostly from Mexico. A state that in the previous century ranked near the top in attracting waves of Italians, Irish, Poles and others to work in its mines and mills now stands just 16th in drawing immigrants. Yet immigration – to be precise, illegal immigration – suddenly is topic No. 1 in the contentious U.S. Senate race. Incumbent Republican Rick Santorum – looking to capitalize on an issue that has galvanized his conservative base like no other in recent months – launched a pair of 60-second radio ads last week. Santorum charged that Democratic foe Bob Casey Jr. had “joined with Ted Kennedy and other liberals in supporting a bill that grants amnesty to millions who’ve entered our country illegally… . That’s just not fair.”

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In the special election for convicted felon Duke Cunningham’s (R-San Diego) seat in the House, Brian Bilbray won in a close election.   Bilbray made )anti)immigration a big issue.  Is this just the beginning of a return to 1994 and Prop 187-type campaigning?  Stay tuned.

KJ