Top Stories Tucson

This year, after the still-unsolved March shooting of rancher Robert Krentz along the Mexican border in Giffords’ district, “immigration is back,” she said.

A controversial new Arizona statute would allow law enforcement officials to demand identification from suspected illegal immigrants. Giffords says the law was prompted in part by Krentz’s death, in an area traversed by illegal immigrants. The law is set to take effect later this month unless a federal judge supports a legal challenge from President Obama’s administration.

No matter what its fate in the federal courts, the proposed Arizona law already is having an impact on the midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress and 37 governor’s offices. Meg Whitman, a Republican running for governor in California; Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, running for re-election in Nevada; and Republican Lou Barletta, an eastern Pennsylvania mayor making his third bid for Congress, are among the candidates from coast to coast making the Arizona law a campaign topic.

This week, nine state attorneys general — including three Republicans running for governor — filed a friend-of-the-court brief backing Arizona in its fight with the federal government. Latino groups, meanwhile, unveiled polling data showing the Arizona law has infuriated the nation’s fastest-growing voting bloc.

All of this is happening at a time when, according to federal government statistics, illegal immigration is down and “the border is safer than it has ever been,” says Doris Meissner, a former U.S. immigration commissioner now with the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank.

That’s not how it feels to people living there, Giffords argues. She points to reports of drug-related beheadings and lynchings in Mexico, just a few miles from some of her constituents’ homes. “The crime in Mexico has created a different kind of fear than we have seen before,” says Democratic pollster Lisa Grove.

Elsewhere in the nation, immigration appears to be serving as a stand-in for even deeper anxieties.

“The problem of illegal immigration only compounds the frustration people are feeling with the federal government,” Barletta says.

Pollsters are tracking two trends that appear to be on a collision course for the Nov. 2 general election:

• A wide majority of Americans consistently say they favor the Arizona law. Separate Quinnipiac surveys in the battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania showed overwhelming support for the measure. “This is a very powerful issue,” says Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll.

• Hispanics are equally unanimous — on the other side. A survey released this week by a coalition of Hispanic groups found that eight in 10 Hispanic voters oppose the Arizona law. Arturo Vargas of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials said those numbers track “a dramatic shift in Latino attitudes” that his organization found in a separate survey, to be released next week.

The deep split in the electorate is reflected in campaign strategies. Hispanic Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval in Nevada and Senate candidate Marco Rubio in Florida, have endorsed the Arizona law.

In Arizona, former congressman J.D. Hayworth is making immigration the centerpiece of his campaign to oust veteran Sen. John McCain in next month’s GOP primary. Hayworth frequently notes that McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, co-wrote a bill four years ago that would have provided a path to citizenship for millions of people now living in the USA illegally.

This year, McCain is emphasizing his support for border security. “Build the dang fence,” he says in one of his campaign ads. In Arizona’s gubernatorial race, incumbent Jan Brewer has pulled away from her GOP primary opponents since signing the immigration law in April, according to a poll by the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center.

Elsewhere, other candidates take a different tack. In Nevada, where Hispanics made up 15% of the electorate in 2008, Reid has made his opposition to the Arizona law a centerpiece in his re-election bid. In California, Whitman cut a GOP primary ad promising to be “tough as nails” on illegal immigrants. For the general election campaign, she’s released a Spanish-language ad touting her opposition to the Arizona law.

Jim Kolbe, a Republican who represented Giffords’ Arizona district for 22 years, says the statute may produce some election victories this year for his party, but “will damage Republicans” in the long run by alienating Hispanic voters.

The solution to illegal immigration, Kolbe argues, is a bipartisan approach that would include border security, a program to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants already in the USA and another to allow foreigners to work here legally. The former congressman says he “got clobbered” politically for co-authoring such a bill while he was in Congress. A 2007 version by McCain and Democrat Edward Kennedy, backed by then-president George W. Bush, fell just short of passage.

“The two sides have been getting further and further apart ever since,” Kolbe said.

Jerry Hughes, for instance, transitioned from high school running back to two-time All-America defensive end and first-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts last spring.

Hughes’ potential replacement with the Horned Frogs next season took a path that makes his route look conventional.

Braylon Broughton didn’t play organized football until his junior year at Dallas’ Hillcrest High and had to be coerced to come over from basketball. His physique and introduction to defensive end immediately attracted recruiting attention. He signed with Arizona, but his enrollment wasn’t approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Broughton then spent a year out of school and out of football — working as an overnight stocker at Wal-Mart— helping his family make ends meet as his mother succumbed to cancer.

He enrolled in 2007 at TCU, which had kept him on its recruiting board after his high school days.

Broughton heads into his junior season at 6-6 and 272 pounds, about 60 more than when he arrived on campus, and considers this a critical juncture in his football career.

“Even though I have two years, I feel like I have to make my mark now,” Broughton said. “I want to be a starter. This summer, I’m going to dedicate all my time to football.”

Broughton opened spring drills No. 1 at left defensive end, previously Hughes’ position. Before practices were done, three other players earned consideration to become the new starter, and a dinged-up Broughton finished No. 3.

While TCU coach Gary Patterson isn’t ready to declare he has found another two-time All-American, he sees plenty of potential in Broughton.

“The guy, within the next two years, is ready to have a breakout season,” Patterson said. “As far as a physical specimen, there’s not one that looks any better than he does anywhere in the country.”

Broughton played only basketball during his first two years of high school, when he said he was 6-6 and about 200 pounds. He said he declined overtures from the football staff when his basketball coach hinted that playing football would endanger his starting status on the court.

A new football coaching staff arrived at Hillcrest before Broughton’s junior year, and coach Clayton George and defensive coordinator Dean Jackson made another run at him. Broughton said he agreed to come out for football to get Jackson to stop annoying him.

“He’s the best-looking high school prospect I’ve ever seen,” said George, now an assistant at Southlake (Texas) Carroll High.

Broughton was placed at defensive end, basically told to go get the football. George said he merely showed recruiters one play from Broughton’s junior year, when he ran down future University of Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle on the opposite side of the field for a loss.

“They didn’t need to see anything else,” George said.

Broughton said he didn’t lift weights much at Hillcrest or work out much during his year at Wal-Mart. He said he always has been naturally strong.

“My uncles were in the Army and Marines,” he said. “Whenever I got in trouble, instead of whuppin’ me, they made me do push-ups.”

Patterson signed Broughton with the confidence he would fill out.

“If you want to get speed, you have to recruit speed,” he said. “Very rarely do they get faster. But you can make them bigger.”

Broughton came off the bench in three games as a redshirt freshman in 2008 and in 11 last season as TCU led the nation in total defense and reached the Fiesta Bowl. This spring, he was hampered by heel and knee injuries. But it seemed like most Frogs came away from spring drills battered or bruised.

“By the time we got done,” Patterson said, “we needed to quit.”

The only TCU player who appears assured of regular playing time at defensive end is senior Wayne Daniels, who should start again on the right side.

The No. 1 left end on the post-spring depth chart was sophomore Ross Forrest, a former walk-on who was injured in the 2009 opener at Virginia and was lost for the season.

Senior Clarence Leatch is listed behind Daniels at right end. Other candidates are redshirt freshman Stansly Maponga and incoming freshmen Cliff Murphy and Blake Roberts.

“It may be by committee,” Patterson said. “Six guys have a chance to play in a rotation. I like competition. Usually if you’re going to have a great season, somebody at a position where you lost somebody has to step up and play there.”

Jeff Miller is a freelancer in Dallas.

AFC

Baltimore Ravens— McDaniel College, Westminster, Md., July 26/July 28.

Buffalo Bills— St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, N.Y., both July 29.

Cincinnati Bengals— Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., both July 28.

Cleveland Browns— Browns Training Facility, Berea, Ohio, July 23/July 30.

Denver Broncos— Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Centre, Englewood, Colo., July 26/July 31.

Houston Texans— Methodist Training Center, Houston, both July 30.

Indianapolis Colts— Anderson University, Anderson, Ind., both Aug. 1.

Jacksonville Jaguars— Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla., both July 29.

Kansas City Chiefs—Missouri Western, St. Joseph, Mo., both July 29.

Miami Dolphins— Dolphins Training Facility, Davie, Fla., both July 30.

New England Patriots—Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass., July 25/July 28.

New York Jets— Cortland State, Cortland, N.Y., July 29/Aug. 1.

Oakland Raiders— Napa Valley Marriott, Napa, Calif., both July 28.

Pittsburgh Steelers— Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa., both July 30.

San Diego Chargers—Chargers Park, San Diego, July 25/July 30.

Tennessee Titans— Baptist Sports Park, Nashville, both July 31.

NFC

Arizona Cardinals— Northern Arizona U., Flagstaff, Ariz., both July 30.

Atlanta Falcons— Falcons Training Facility, Flowery Branch, Ga., both July 29.

Carolina Panthers— Wofford College, Spartanburg, S.C., both July 28.

Chicago Bears— Olivet Nazarene, Bourbonnais, Ill., both July 30.

Dallas Cowboys—Alamodome, San Antonio, both July 29; Dallas, Aug. 7-13; Oxnard River Ridge, Oxnard, Calif., Aug. 14-27.

Detroit Lions— Lions Training Facility, Allen Park, Mich., both July 30.

Green Bay Packers— St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wis., both July 30.

Minnesota Vikings— Minnesota State-Mankato, both July 30.

New Orleans Saints— Saints Training Facility, Metairie, La., both July 29.

New York Giants— University At Albany, N.Y., both Aug. 1.

Philadelphia Eagles— Lehigh, Bethlehem, Pa., July 26/July 29.

St. Louis Rams— Russell Training Center, Earth City, Mo., July 28/July 30.

San Francisco 49ers— Marie P. Debartolo Sports Center, Santa Clara, Calif., July 30/July 31.

Seattle Seahawks— Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Renton, Wash., July 29/July 30.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers— One Buccaneer Place, Tampa, both July 30.

Washington Redskins—Redskins Park, Ashburn, Va., both July 29.