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 Editorials | Issues | May 2007 
Richardson: Border Wall 'a Big Mistake'
 Beth Reinhard & Lesley Clark - MiamiHerald.com
| | New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson appears on 'Meet the Press' Sunday, May 27, 2007, at the NBC studios in Washington. (AP/Alex Wong) |
As governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson was the first border-state official to declare an illegal immigration "state of emergency" that demanded National Guard patrols. Now he is the first Democratic presidential candidate to oppose immigration reforms in Congress.
The sole Hispanic to seek his party's nomination, Richardson has long been at the forefront of the immigration debate - but far from the vanguard of the 2008 race.
"I am an insurgent, but I am moving up," he said in Boca Raton before a fundraiser Tuesday at a private home and another at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.
Richardson, the son of a Mexican mother and American father, opposes a fence along the Mexican border. Candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama voted for the 700-mile wall.
"Yes, improve border security, but I believe this wall is a big mistake," he said. "It would be a terrible symbol, and it would be ineffective."
Richardson also criticizes the plan, which hit Congress two weeks ago, for favoring skilled workers over family members seeking to immigrate. Clinton and Obama also have vowed to push for family-friendly changes.
"Family reunification has been the basis of past immigration law, and that is a very serious problem," he said.
Richardson said his experience as governor of New Mexico makes him the most qualified to grapple with immigration. Allowing illegal immigrants to earn citizenship, he said, would improve U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.
CUBA SANCTIONS
Richardson also favors making it easier for Cuban-Americans to visit family on the island and send money. Some exiles believe those contacts strengthen Fidel Castro's regime.
"I believe that would enhance family reunification and values," he said.
His stance on the immigration bill could create the perception that he is standing in the way of a reasonable compromise, though it also may appeal to the most liberal wing of his party.
"As one of the nation's most powerful Hispanic leaders, he has a special obligation to try to make the bill better," said Joe Garcia, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and the former executive director of the Cuban-American National Foundation.
Aside from immigration, Richardson says he is the only Democratic candidate to call for an immediate and total withdrawal of troops from Iraq. And his support for gun rights earned him a past endorsement from the National Rifle Association.
His biggest asset, supporters say, is his résumé: two-term governor, former member of Congress, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former U.S. Secretary of Energy.
An ad in Iowa and on the Internet shows a young man across a desk reciting Richardson's long list of accomplishments. "So," he asks Richardson, "What makes you think you can be president?"
But Richardson's poll ratings and fundraising lag far behind, and his appearances in televised debates and interviews have been uneven. On MSNBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, he tried to parse being both a Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fan.
HISPANIC SUPPORT
Though Richardson has been raising money in Florida for years, he collected only $200,000 during the first three months of 2007.
"He's a charming guy, but that charm hasn't been there," said former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, a Richardson supporter.
"Hispanics, like all people, like to be with a winner, and so far he hasn't risen above the fray," he said.
Miami attorney Roland Sanchez-Medina, a Cuban-American Bar Association board member, said of Richardson: "I see him as a vice presidential candidate more than anything else."
But Richardson said he "can win" Florida, which will host the nation's first big-state primary on Jan. 29.
Democratic national party rules say that only four smaller states can vote before Feb. 5, but Richardson said he would compete in Florida despite potential sanctions at the national convention.
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com |
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