Why aren't the candidates talking about immigration?

Rally protesters
A supporter of legal immigration holds a signs that says, "No more illegal aliens and fugitives from justice. Go home!"
MPR Photo/Elizabeth Baier

The economy and national security continue to dominate the race for president. One issue that has largely been ignored on the campaign trail, especially during this general election campaign, is immigration.

The issue has inspired massive protests and at least two thick pieces of compromise legislation in Congress in the last two years. But it has gone unmentioned at the presidential debates and is not a part of either John McCain's or Barack Obama's stump speech.

Tamar Jacoby is a prominent conservative voice on the immigration issue, arguing that comprehensive reform will benefit U.S. businesses. She's the former justice editor of Newsweek and a former deputy op-ed editor at the New York Times. Now she is president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA.

Tamar Jacoby is in the Twin Cities for an immigration conference tomorrow at Neighborhood House in St. Paul.

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