The immigration issue and CD23

Greg Jefferson of the San Antonio Express News writes an interesting perspective on how the immigration issue plays in CD23 which includes 700 miles of border residents, West Texas ranchers, and a mixture of San Antonio Democrats and Republicans.

Looking to fire up conservative voters, House Republican leaders are pushing border security as a major issue heading into the November elections, touching on worries about terrorists slipping undetected into the country.

But in District 23, which takes in 20 counties and thousands of people whose lives are directly affected?

"This isn't as polarizing an issue as it is in other parts of the country because, I think, this district has been dealing with this question for a long, long time," said Andy Hernandez, a political scientist and former executive with the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.

Jefferson says Bonilla has not taken a stance on the immigration issue, but Bonilla's votes belie that contention.

"It's kind of hard to support someone []Bonilla] who wants to build a fence," said Foster, who's also president of the Texas Border Coalition, a group of city and county officials. "I'd say 95 percent of Maverick County agrees with me."

And, by the way, the immigration issue isn't just about "border security as a major issue heading into the November elections, touching on worries about terrorists slipping undetected into the country." It's about bigotry and hatred for people who are different from you. Another reason the 'immigration issue' plays differently on the border.