Hourly Update

Immigration overshadowed on campaign trail

PHOENIX - In the waning weeks of the presidential campaign, illegal immigration has been overshadowed. While the candidates laid out plans confronting the problem earlier on, advocates on both sides say the complex and divisive nature of immigration has kept it from getting more attention. The final presidential debate tomorrow night in Tempe might change that. Arizona has been dogged by a heavy flow of illegal immigrants after the government tightened enforcement in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego during the mid-1990s. Plans by Bush and Kerry would let immigrants work here legally, but they differ on the opportunities for workers to become U-S citizens. Bush has proposed letting immigrants get renewable three-year labor visas to work in jobs that aren't filled by American workers. His plan wouldn't provide automatic citizenship for workers. Kerry would give illegal workers who have been in the United States for at least five years a chance at citizenship if they've paid taxes and stayed out of trouble.