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US: Sarah Palin silent on immigration issues

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Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain surprised America by announcing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice-Presidential running mate -- a virtual unknown in US politics. Since then, McCain's campaign has kept the press from interviewing Palin; her stance on a number of issues is unknown. This especially includes immigration -- a hot topic in today's American political landscape.

Non-partisan political websites such as ontheissues.org mark Palin as having no stance on immigration. However, given John McCain's stated positions on the topic, and the amount of spotlight shining on his young running-mate, the issue is likely to come up before November when the nation chooses the next President.

In an unusual situation in America's two-party political scene, both McCain and his opponent Barack Obama are both on the record as supporting a guest worker program that offers a path to eventual citizenship. They also both support an increase in the nation's H-1B visa quota.

For McCain, his positions on immigration have caused some friction within his party. The topic of immigration was notably absent during the Republican Convention. With Sarah Palin garnering all the attention, the absence of such an important issue during the many speeches went virtually unnoticed.

Governor Palin's background in politics has not given her a much of a foundation to take a stance on this issue -- there is no fence under discussion for her State's border with Canada. However, the press will have their chance to interview Palin soon; it remains to be seen what her position is on issues such as H-1B visas, a guest worker program and other topics that make up the debate on immigration reform.