September 15, 2003

Pete Wilson discusses illegal immigration with National Review editor Rich Lowry:

The NYTimes reports today: "With Californians facing a shrinking number of high-paying blue-collar jobs, a huge state deficit and reduced access to the state colleges, the immigration issue has never gone away, even if mainstream politicians avoided talking about it." This is almost exactly what Pete Wilson told me a couple of weeks ago. He was commenting on a VDH cover story in NR: "I would disagree with only one thing and that was his first sentence. He said California "gave up" years ago on contesting illegal immigration. That's not true. First of all, the actual responsibility to control the border, legally and constitutionally, is with the feds. Second, they really didn't give up - 187 was, I think, remarkable. And it was scuttled by the courts. So I wouldn't agree with him that they have quit fighting it. They don't see the means at hand with this governor to do that, but hell, 187 would pass today, I think perhaps by a greater margin."
Posted by Greg Ransom