Immigration issues nag at GOP candidates

By LIBBY QUAID
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ask the leading Republican presidential candidates about dealing with illegal immigration, and inevitably the answer focuses on tightening border security and building fences.

What voters aren't hearing a lot about is giving legal status, under certain conditions, to illegal immigrants in the United States, even though each of the top three GOP candidates has supported such a policy.

The reason has a lot to do with a deep fissure in the GOP base: Business and industry are demanding more low-wage workers, while grass-roots conservatives are demanding that those workers be shipped home.

From coffee shops in Iowa to barbecue joints in South Carolina, GOP voters troubled by what they see as an unchecked influx of immigrants into their communities are peppering the candidates with often-angry questions at campaign stops.