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John Daley ReportingWith a heated debate and rallies nationwide, illegal immigration has catapulted to the top of the political agenda. That has political observers and political parties considering the implications.
The issue has become so hot that key Republican leaders in Congress are backing away from proposed legislation that would make it a felony to be an illegal alien. The move comes after millions of people in dozens of cities have been demonstrating in recent days, demonstrations that were sparked in large part by that measure.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll published Tuesday finds that only 20 percent of those questioned nationally said they favored declaring illegal immigrants to be felons.
Meantime, community leaders are using the recent events to enlist new voters, with voter registration booths set up and signing up several hundred people to vote, many who haven't in the past. Pollsters say those new voters could be a factor in the 2006 elections.
Dan Jones, Pollster: "If you get a very well organized group that's eligible to vote, and they'll vote together, you've got to have impact."
Tony Yapias, Rally Organizer: "Guess what? We're going to go to our friends, and we're going to go to our neighbors, and we're going to go to all the people that we know. And we're gonna tell them, 'Guess what, you can help us.' 'Cuz guess what, they're registered voters, they're US citizens. If they're not registered to vote, we will make sure that they get registered to vote."
An estimated 25-thousand plus people marched Sunday in Salt Lake, and then another 5,000 or so attended a rally on Monday.
Organizers of the Salt Lake events say they'll be watching legislative efforts carefully when Congress gets back in session in a couple of weeks, and then may join a nationwide strike on May 1st.
