Brian Bilbray Chairs the HIRC

After Tom Tancredo formally announced his candidacy for President, in January 2007 Rep. Brian Bilbray, a Republican from California's 50th Congressional District, was selected chairman of the Caucus. Because press reports remarked on the expectation that his leadership style would be different than Tancredo's, Bilbray's record bears examining.14

First elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican from California's District 49 in 1994, Brian Bilbray had spent the previous two decades holding several different local elected offices in San Diego County. Concerned about preserving California's beaches and willing to vote for President Clinton's assault weapons ban, he campaigned as "San Diego's independent voice for change" during 1996 and won re-election. He prevailed again in 1998. During the 2000 election, Bilbray was defeated by Susan Davis, a Democrat. During that campaign she made an issue of Bilbray's previous support for bills aimed at overturning "birthright citizenship," according to the Almanac of American Politics 2002. Bilbray had proposed legislation to that effect in 1995. The fact that Bilbray advocated overturning the Fourteenth Amendment should end any false notion that his leadership of the House Immigration Reform Caucus will somehow be less rancorous than Tancredo's.

Bilbray became a lobbyist, and worked for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and served as co-chair of its National Board of Advisors.15 FAIR paid him almost $300,000 for work on its behalf between May 2002 and July 2005, according to press reports.16 In 2005 Bilbray signed on as a plaintiff in a lawsuit sponsored by FAIR.17 The suit challenged California state legislation that allowed the children of undocumented immigrants who met certain criteria to receive in-state tuition rates at state universities. A similar lawsuit brought by FAIR against Kansas state universities has, of this date, failed in the courts. (FAIR also paid $70,000 to attorney Kris Kobach, who worked on both the Kansas and California cases).

In June 2006, Bilbray went back to Congress after winning a special election for California's District 50 seat. The previously sitting congressman, Randy "Duke" Cunningham had been sentenced to prison for taking millions of dollars in bribes from defense contractors. The San Diego Union Tribune noted that "immigration became the defining issue" during the race and Bilbray made a point of opposing a reform bill supported by Sen. John McCain, calling it "amnesty" legislation.19 He won re-election that November.