Heritage Foundation math on immigration disputed

By William Douglas

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON — It caught Vice President Dick Cheney off guard, emboldened the conservative opposition, and it's become one of the most talked about "talking points" in the battle over immigration.

A study by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy-research center, said the Senate's expansive immigration measure would allow a staggering 103 million immigrants to enter the United States over 20 years.

The report instantly became the weapon of choice for the bill's opponents in Washington, on talk radio and across the country.