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Candidates on the Issues: Immigration

Mexican migrants wait for a ride on the dirt road that leads from Mexico to the border at Sasabe, Ariz.
Gerry Hadden, NPR News
Mexican migrants wait for a ride on the dirt road that leads from Mexico to the border at Sasabe, Ariz.
A watchtower on the U.S. side of the border, in Arizona, across from Sonora, Mexico. At night, agents use infrared devices to detect the movement of migrants in the desert.
Gerry Hadden, NPR News /
A watchtower on the U.S. side of the border, in Arizona, across from Sonora, Mexico. At night, agents use infrared devices to detect the movement of migrants in the desert.

On the campaign trail, President Bush and Sen. John Kerry are taking aim at U.S. immigration policies -- and at the 7 million Latino voters expected to cast ballots this November. Whether such policies will influence Latino voters remains unclear, but both parties keep trying, especially in key battle ground states in the Southwest. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

Mr. Bush says announced a temporary guest worker proposal last January, but the bill was never brought up in Congress. Since then he has repeatedly said he does not favor granting citizenship to illegal immigrants.

Kerry says he does support putting the country's more than 8 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. The Democrat has pledged to send Congress an immigration reform bill within the first 100 days of his administration.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Carrie Kahn is NPR's International Correspondent based in Mexico City, Mexico. She covers Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Kahn's reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning news programs including All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, and on NPR.org.