As candidates keep dropping out, or getting trounced, in the race for president, the walls are caving in for those seeking to elect an anti-immigrant zealot. After all, those candidates who have practiced the politics of xenophobia are not doing too well.

Of the three people who have the best shot at becoming our next president — Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain — all are in favor of a legalization plan for the 12 million illegal immigrants who are already here. They all realize that our borders must be secured, but they also know that our broken immigration system cannot be fixed unless the reforms are comprehensive and illegal immigrants are given an opportunity to come out of the shadows.

In spite of all the noise made and venom spewed by those seeking strict immigration enforcement, the candidates who scapegoated illegal immigrants are turning out to be the losers.

I say, God bless America!

Could it be that the silent majority of compassionate Americans finally are speaking out at the ballot box against the immigrant bashers? Could we be reaffirming our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants?

I know; after the way illegal immigrants have been vilified during the past couple of years, that sounds too good to be true. But I can dream, can't I?

All along, I've been telling anyone who would listen that immigrant bashing as a campaign tactic is a terrible idea. Throughout history, there are examples of politicians who have belittled immigrants as a cheap way to seek votes, only to suffer a well-deserved voter backlash. For every xenophobic voter, there are several Americans who are sick and tired of their fear mongering and their whining.

One of the first candidates to withdraw was Rep. Tom Tancredo, the champion of immigrant bashers, who ran a single-issue campaign and proposed, during one of the GOP debates, that we should ban even legal immigration. This is a man who clearly is threatened by the growth of the Latino population and wanted to rally those Americans who also suffer from unfounded Latino-phobia.

He was followed out of the GOP race by Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, who kept promising to build not just one but two walls along the Mexican border, and Fred Thompson, who took up all the extreme anti-immigrant positions only because he was supposed to be the model candidate for ultraconservatives.

That leaves former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov.

Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney still vying for the anti-immigrant vote among Republicans. Amazingly, all three of these candidates have hardened their positions on illegal immigrants while seeking the support of the ultraconservative wing of their party. The crueler they promise to be the more electable they think they can become. Stay tuned, and watch them fall — especially when they get to the states where Latinos represent a significant portion of the voters.

And then we have McCain, who has been maligned by members of his own party for being one of the original proponents of comprehensive reform. The man is a national hero, but he is an enemy of those who suffer from chronic xenophobia.

Although McCain also has modified his position to appease the anti-immigrant GOP extremists (now he is promising to secure the borders before he implements a legalization program), the hardliners won't forgive him. To them, he supported what they call "amnesty," which is like supporting the spread of some terrible disease.

Yet soon even the bashing extremists may have to choose between McCain and one of two Democrats, Clinton or Obama, who have even fewer reservations about supporting a comprehensive immigration reform package. In the end, even the anti-immigrant hardliners may end up having to vote for a candidate who supports the "amnesty" they find so repulsive.

Could this be the beginning of the end of the anti-immigrant wave that has taken this country down the path of intolerance and prejudice? Could we finally fix our broken immigration system with sound and realistic policies that are not based on fear tactics, political expediency and xenophobic stereotypes? Are we about to show majority-shared compassion for the immigrants who already live among us without proper documents, especially those who have worked and raised families here for many years? Are we going to let their foreign-born and yet very American children go to college?

I know; under the recent climate, it sounds like a lot to ask for. But the weather is changing, and the bashing candidates are losing, and I can dream, can't I?

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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