MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Colorful piñatas hang from the ceiling, and Spanish-labeled goods fill the shelves of Angel Regalado’s grocery in Marshalltown, a rural place with a bulging immigrant community.
Many of his customers lived in Mexico a decade ago. But the influx of Latinos to Marshalltown, with its large meatpacking plant, and elsewhere across Iowa has changed the political dynamics in what was one of the most homogeneous states in America.
Now more than 115,000 Hispanics live in Iowa, almost 4 percent of the state’s population of 3 million. Though their community is tiny by border-state standards, their numbers increased 37 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs.
The rapid growth of Iowa’s Hispanic population, particularly the estimated 55,000 to 85,000 here illegally, has fueled a fierce debate in the state that will hold the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses on Jan. 3.
Amid the polarizing politics of immigration, the issue is cutting both ways.
Regalado said that for the first time since he arrived 15 years ago, he will vote in the Democratic caucuses, possibly for Hillary Rodham Clinton. His reason: anti-immigrant rhetoric from the Republicans.
“They don’t care about good people,” he said of the immigration critics. “Most people come here to work.”
In the GOP race, presidential contenders have been taking increasingly tough stands against illegal immigrants, favoring, among other things, deportations of convicted felons and hefty fines for employers.
Last week, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who holds a narrow lead in the GOP Iowa polls, attacked his two main rivals — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — for supporting sanctuary status for illegal immigrants and tuition breaks for their children.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican running on an anti-immigration message, recently began broadcasting a commercial suggesting that open-border policies have allowed terrorists to enter the country.
His spot closes with a man in a hooded sweat shirt in a crowded mall. As the screen goes dark, an explosion is heard.
“People here are concerned about stopping the flow of illegal immigrants,” said Barb Livingston, chairman of the Republican Party of Marshall County, which includes Marshalltown.
The influx of immigrants has had an impact on schools, health care and taxes, she said.
At the same time, Livingston conceded the issue was complicated and that voter anger was not necessarily directed at the Hispanic immigrants living in their communities.
“They have compassion for people that are here and don’t wish them ill,” she said.
Democrats are trying to woo Latino voters. Between 15,000 and 18,000 Hispanics are registered to vote in Iowa and are eligible to attend the state’s primary caucuses. They could make up a pivotal bloc in the Democratic caucuses, which drew 124,000 voters in 2004.
The partisan divide over immigration was underscored in a recent University of Iowa poll of likely caucus-goers. The survey found that two-thirds of Republicans rated immigration as either the most important or a highly important issue. Only about one-third of Democrats ranked the issue so high.
The poll, however, found Republicans far from united about how to deal with the issue.
