Immigration Shootout in Idaho: Gubernatorial Primary Becomes Race to Right on Securing the Country

The issue of illegal and legal immigration is leading the debate of the Idaho gubernatorial race where establishment Lt. Gov. Brad Little, conservative Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), and Dr. Tommy Ahlquist are facing off.

A new ad by Little accuses Labrador and Ahlquist of having “liberal records” on immigration, claiming Labrador supported welfare benefits for illegal aliens. A report by local news KTVB verified that this claim is untrue.

Little also blasts Ahlquist for supporting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the 2016 presidential election against President Trump. Rubio infamously crafted the “Gang of Eight” amnesty for millions of illegal aliens.

“Tommy Ahlquist he is so liberal on immigration that he didn’t even vote for Trump over Hillary,” the ad states.

Labrador responded to the attack ad, saying in a statement:

It’s disappointing to see Brad Little double down on lies and distortions in a last-minute desperate attempt to cling to power. Brad and his pro-amnesty cronies are using the same tactics the Democrats used in 2010 to distort my consistent conservative record on immigration. Brad’s internal polls must be showing that he is losing this race. Shame on you, Brad—the people of Idaho expect and deserve better from you.

Labrador has consistently supported not only ending illegal immigration and supporting a border wall, but also reducing legal immigration to raise the wages of U.S. workers. NumbersUSA—which advocates for less immigration to benefit Americans—has given Labrador an “A+” on his immigration reduction record.

Most recently, Labrador helped craft the “Securing America’s Future Act,” which would have significantly reduced legal immigration to the U.S. to relieve America’s working and middle class of the immigration burden, as well as authorized construction of a border wall. The legislation would have also mandated “E-Verify” which would ban employers from hiring illegal aliens over American citizens.

The Idaho Republican primary for governor is May 15.