Anti-Immigration Forces Deluge Iowa

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Anti-immigration groups have latched onto Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses as a national stage, pouring thousands of dollars into campaign advertising that blames immigration for many of the country's woes.

In one newspaper ad, words printed over a garbage dump read:

``When those candidates tell you how unspoiled and beautiful Iowa is, ask them what they're going to do to keep it that way.

``Most likely you'll have to give them the answer: reduce immigration.''

Another ad describes the town of Storm Lake, where the IBP Inc (NYSE:IBP - news). meatpacking plant employs hundreds of Hispanics, as a place ``where quality of life is but a memory.''

Gov. Tom Vilsack railed against the ads last week, calling them a deplorable propaganda campaign by ``hate-mongers'' who ``go after Hispanics and Asians.''

Several television stations and newspapers, including The Des Moines Register and Ottumwa Courier, have refused to run them, saying the ads are misleading and inflammatory.

``It was insinuating that immigrants were garbage,'' said Register Publisher Barbara Henry.

While few Iowans have publicly agreed with the ads, Dan Stein, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Federation for American Immigration Reform, said his group has had overwhelmingly positive feedback from the ad campaign.

``Iowans have been brow beat to think of this level of immigration as inevitable, that they should like it and everybody should get along,'' Stein said.

``We know about the ad and what it did to Storm Lake. As far as we're concerned, it's true,'' said Pam Schuver, co-owner of Danny's Sport Spot, a restaurant in Cherokee, about 20 miles from Storm Lake.

Storm Lake is a great community, but it used to be better, Ms. Schuver said Saturday. She said the town has deteriorated since large numbers of immigrants came to work at the IBP plant.

People don't like to talk about it for fear of sounding politically incorrect, she said.

``People try to dehumanize the opposition by using (the term) racism,'' said John Vinson, president of the Virginia-based American Immigration Control Foundation, which has been advertising across the country since 1997. ``There is nothing in those ads to incite racial hostility.''

The ads, which began running three weeks before the state's Jan. 24 caucuses, say the U.S. population will grow from 275 million to 400 million people in 50 years without immigration reforms. They say the country doesn't have room for that many people and show images of unemployed workers and a decaying neighborhood.

In Storm Lake, Mayor Jon Kruse has demanded a public apology from what he called ``the inconsiderate, uninformed, out-of-state, political, special interest group.''

The ad saying Storm Lake's quality of life has been diminished by immigration says the northwest Iowa city's schools, jails and hospitals have been overburdened by foreigners. It portrays a business forced to close its doors, a neighborhood in disarray and people being arrested. But none of the images were filmed in Storm Lake.

``I call it very demeaning,'' said Dale Carver, who heads an area diversity task force. ``They didn't portray Storm Lake at all in a true manner.''

Federation spokesman Rick Oltman of San Rafael, Calif., said the group is sticking by the ad.

``I don't think with have anything to apologize for. The mayor did not correct any of the things that were said in the ad,'' Oltman said.

Alicia Claypool, executive director of the Iowa Interfaith Alliance, said the outside groups are simply ``taking advantage of Iowa's precinct caucus process'' and the presence of the presidential candidates.

On Friday, The Associated Press asked the candidates: Should legal immigration be increased, decreased or maintained?

Pat Buchanan (news - web sites) was the most outspoken, saying, ``Legal immigration should be reduced to 250,000 newcomers a year, both to assimilate the 30 million who have come here in recent decades, and to ease the downward pressure on the wages of U.S. workers.''

Most of the candidates said legal immigration levels should be maintained. Gary Bauer (news - web sites) said the numbers should be reviewed each year and lowered temporarily, and Steve Forbes (news - web sites) said he doesn't support increasing legal immigration, except for high-tech workers.

``America must always remain a refuge for those fleeing oppression,'' Democrat Bill Bradley (news - web sites) said, but he added, ``At the same time, we must be able to control our borders to protect our security as well as to keep our work force stable.''