Bush visits ‘ground zero’ in immigration debate

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Immigrant-dependent economy
The Yuma economy is heavily reliant on agriculture, and farmers are eager to employ immigrants at low prices to harvest fresh crops that are increasingly in demand across the country.

The remote outpost is also one of the hottest places in the country, and growing number of Mexicans die each year trying to make it across the border.

The problem has divided the state’s politicians who do not all agree with Bush’s proposed solution. The governor, Janet Napolitano, is a Democrat but agrees with Bush that the United States should let more foreigners have temporary work permits to enter the country while strengthening security at the border.

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Border hawk rides on Air Force One
But others, like Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth, want to enforce the border before even considering any plan for guest worker permits. Hayworth rode with Bush on Air Force One and said he was giving the president a copy of his book on immigration, which proposes building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, using armed forces to help patrol the region and denying citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.

Arizona “is ground zero,” Hayworth said, “when you consider nightly between 6,000 and 6,500 illegals attempt to cross our border and of that group, between 4,000 and 4,500 make it on a nightly basis. That is why there is such concern.”

Some of those who don’t make it are caught by the Border Patrol, while others lose their lives with daytime temperatures as high as 120 degrees. At the Yuma station, which oversees 62 miles of the border, authorities said agents are catching 300 to 450 immigrants a day, which is comparable to last year’s numbers.

But they also are seeing unusual spikes, including 840 on a single day in March. Deaths in the Yuma sector hit a record 51 in 2005, up from 36 in 2004 and 15 in 2003.

The Associated Press and NBC's David Gregory contributed to this report.

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