Patrick's fine line on immigration
THERE'S a fine line between political courage and political vulnerability. When it comes to illegal immigration, Deval Patrick is definitely walking it.
The Massachusetts governor and Barack Obama supporter picked a politically risky moment to stand up for an unpopular idea - letting the children of illegal immigrants living in Massachusetts pay the same in-state college tuition rate as the children of legal residents.
Answering a question before a group of business and civic leaders last week, Patrick said his legal team is pondering whether the state could grant the lower rate by passing a regulation which would require approval by the state Board of Higher Education. That would bypass the state Legislature, which rejected a bill in 2006 that would have extended the in-state tuition rate to such students.
Perhaps Patrick can get the 11-member Board of Higher Education to go along with such a proposal. But at what expense? Taking that path would surely anger legislators, whose support he needs for other priorities that affect far more constituents than the 400-to-500 students who supposedly qualify for the in-state tuition rate. But, anyway, why raise the issue now? From a national perspective, it fires up strong anti-immigration forces in the middle of the presidential primary season, to the benefit of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney - and, perhaps, to the disadvantage of Obama, the Democrat Patrick endorsed.
To the relief of fellow Democrats, Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York backed down from a controversial proposal to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. A question about the Spitzer proposal famously tripped up Hillary Clinton during a debate, when she waffled on whether or not she supported it. In Michigan, Attorney General Mike Cox recently overturned a predecessor's decision that allowed illegal immigrants to get licenses. That call from the AG prompted a laudatory response from Romney, who is hoping for a first-place finish in Michigan's upcoming primary. "Giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants is the wrong policy, and Michigan's attorney general made the right choice," wrote Romney in a letter to the editor of the Detroit Free Press that was published on Jan. 4.
The debate over illegal immigration is an emotional and recurring campaign issue in the 2008 race, especially on the Republican side. So far, it hasn't moved votes to Romney, who is taking the toughest stand against illegal immigration in the GOP field.
He pushed the anti-immigration button in Iowa, but still came in second behind former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. In New Hampshire, Romney lost to rival John McCain, after spending millions on ads that attacked McCain for being soft on illegal immigrants. According to exit polls, immigration finished in third place, behind the economy and the war in Iraq, as the most important issue picked by Republicans who voted in the New Hampshire primary.
But Romney is not giving up. After Thursday night's debate in South Carolina, the Romney campaign issued a press release again blasting McCain for reaffirming his support "for a pathway to citizenship."
"So far, immigration has not worked as a wedge issue," said Ali Noorani, the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. "Voters are voting based on issues they care about - jobs, healthcare, the economy." Advocates argue that a hardline against illegal immigrants helps Democrats win Latino votes in November, especially in swing states such as Nevada, New Mexico, Florid, and Colorado.
As for Patrick's tackling of this highly-charged subject matter at a politically sensitive time, Noorani said the governor was "speaking more emotionally than politically" about an issue that is "near and dear to his heart." However, one source familiar with the governor's thinking on in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants said Patrick planned to say nothing about it until after Feb. 5, when 24 states, including Massachusetts, hold primaries. "What Deval did, oh man . . . he didn't need to go that far," he moaned; Patrick's legal advisers "are not sold on the ability to do this administratively," he said.
On the other hand, Patrick took office promising a different kind of politics. He didn't deliver on it during his first year in office; maybe he's starting now. Maybe watching Obama stand up on the presidential campaign trail reminded Patrick what he stood up for and to during the 2006 governor's race. Republican Kerry Healey aimed a barrage of anti-immigration ads at him; they didn't work any better than Romney's.
Maybe that's what Patrick was thinking and why he's walking the line.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
