They Won’t Touch This Hot Potato

Washington — Both President Bush and his Democratic rival, Sen. John F. Kerry, have proposed changes that could lead to the most sweeping overhaul in 20 years of the nation’s immigration policies, but neither has emphasized the often controversial subject in the campaign.

“Immigration is probably the biggest issue the country faces that nobody wants to talk about, and that has certainly been mirrored in this campaign,” said Doris Meissner, who served as the government’s top immigration official from 1993 to 2000.

“Whoever wins is probably going to have to take some real political risks to confront the problems, so they have both been happy to punt for the moment,” she added.