[UPDATE BELOW, here are some questions for Hoffman, and here's an update based on his comments about this issue]

I'm not going to get into all of the issues surrounding the current race in upstate New York where conservative Doug Hoffman is battling against the establishment Republican candidate (Dede Scozzafava) and the Democrat (Bill Owens). However, Hoffman doesn't exactly appear to be Tom Tancredo when it comes to immigration issues, and this might be yet another example of the tea parties being useful idiots for someone whose actions will end up raising their taxes.

From his site (link):

Where do you stand on illegal immigration?
There is no question that our immigration policies are flawed. The answer, though, is not to put up a wall and stop all immigration. The answer is to create an easier path for immigrants to enter the United States - and to work here - while at the same time getting tough on illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

The first sentence of his answer is the standard (and false) system is broken line used by hacks from San Diego to Lake Champlain; see the link for more. The second sentence is a false choice: few people are calling to "stop all immigration", and even those who are only want a moratorium and not a permanent cessation. The final sentence is almost assuredly code for some sort of guest workers program and probably is code for something akin to "deport the criminals first (and then amnesty)". The supposed conservative insurgent sounds more than a bit like George W Bush and others who supported some form of amnesty and guest worker programs. Now, maybe he just got tired and used boilerplate instead of actually coming up with a non-establishment GOP position, and if so he should specify exactly what he supports. Or, those in the area should go to his public appearances and ask him to specify what he supports.

Also: Scozzafava doesn't appear to have her position on this issue on her site; the only thing I could find is [2].

UPDATE: Apparently some people don't understand this post, so let me try and reinforce the fact that Hoffman is sounding like all the others who support amnesty and the like.

For instance, when Hoffman says: "our immigration policies are flawed", that's similar to what Obama has said: "We have a broken immigration system. Nobody denies it." Many, many other people have used variants of those lines. In fact, the problem isn't so much with our laws, it's with the enforcement of those laws. The current laws might need a few tweaks here and there, but Hoffman would change our policy to suit certain interests (such as upstate New York farmers). As a side effect he apparently doesn't care about, he'd also help certain other interests (the National Council of La Raza, the League of United Latin American Citizens, MALDEF, and so on; the reader is urged to read those links). In order to placate corrupt business interests, he'd give even more power to groups that question whether our border with Mexico is valid or that have given an award to someone who proposed genocide against "gringos".

When Hoffman pretends that the debate is about stopping all immigration ("stop all immigration" in the quote above), he joins a nearly endless line of those who've attempted to mislead people by conflating the various types of immigration. There are literally too many examples to list; here's just one.

The last sentence of his quote might be tricky for those who don't follow this issue very closely. However, when he talks about "an easier path for immigrants to enter the United States - and to work here", he's talking about some form of guest workers program. Compare his statement to a Mexican consul proposing a "legal, orderly and humane flow of people". They aren't talking about temporary visitors and the like, since that system is to one degree or other working smoothly. What they're talking about is a guest worker program. Compare Hoffman's quote to this Bush quote:

I will work to ensure a system of safe and orderly migration. Earlier this year, I proposed a temporary worker program, not an amnesty program, that will offer legal status as temporary workers to undocumented men and women who were employed in the United States when I announced this proposal.

As for the final part of Hoffman's quote ("at the same time getting tough on illegal immigrants who commit crimes"), we're already to a fair extent doing that. When an illegal alien commits a crime (at least a violent crime), we don't release them to the care of the ACLU or something. They get put into the legal system just as a citizen would. Certainly, the ICE resources dedicated to apprehending fugitives could be greatly increased in order to get rid of the very large backlog, and the 287g program could be rescued from Janet Napolitano's attempts to weaken it, and we could go after illegal aliens and other non-citizens who commit non-violent crimes more than we do. However, that quote is mostly just filler and "boob bait for Bubba". You're getting a vague promise from Hoffman to do mostly what we're already doing in exchange for him getting the "path" he (and those upstate farmers) want.

Now that I look at this a second time, Hoffman is even more of a fake than I thought before.

Also, be sure and see the some questions for him here.

[1] To the extent that his election is a test of Sarah Palin's drawing power, I don't necessarily want him to lose. However, to the extent that it's a test of the tea party's drawing power, I want him to lose and lose big.

[2] From dedeforcongress.com/news/read.aspx?id=5 comes this insignificant blurb:

Conservatives for Dede Co-Chair Dwayne Martin said, "There are a lot of powerful interest groups in New York City and Washington, DC who think this race should be about their own national agenda — not about the issues that matter to us. Dede is a fiscal conservative with a record of creating jobs who will protect our Second Amendment rights, promote national security, reduce taxes and stand tough on illegal immigration. I have spent my career in law enforcement and I know that in Washington, Dede will support legislation to keep our families safe from criminals and terrorists at home and abroad. We are proud to strongly endorse her candidacy for the 23rd Congressional District."