Newsweek: Tancredo Drives the Immigration Debate

"[Rep.] Tancredo may not be a household name yet, but he's doing everything he can to change that . . . Tancredo was one of the first politicians to tap into the latest surge of anger. In states with large numbers of undocumented workers, voters complain that poor illegals are overwhelming public schools, clogging hospital emergency rooms and bankrupting welfare budgets. And they worry that inadequate border security makes it easy for would-be terrorists to sneak into the country. Tancredo's colleagues are listening. When he arrived in Washington, he started the Immigration Reform Caucus. The group attracted just 16 members. Today, there are 91," Newsweek writes. "In December, the House tossed aside the [Bush] worker program and passed a bill that features tougher security at the Mexican border--including Tancredo's cherished fence--and crackdowns on illegals who are already here. 'You can't ignore him,' says a GOP leadership aide who wouldn't be named because he wanted to keep his job. 'The administration doesn't want to hear this, but a lot of Americans think he's right.'"

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