As accusations surfaced that 3rd District congressional candidate John Jacob may have hired immigrants who lacked work eligibility, his supporters raised their own concerns.

The race has become a national bellwether for how Republican candidates will fare on the immigration issue. Jacob, a staunch advocate for secure borders and deporting illegal immigrants, is challenging Congressman Chris Cannon, who is President Bush's point man on comprehensive immigration reform, including the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants.

Regarding the allegations against Jacob, Alex Segura, director of the anti-illegal immigration group Utah Minuteman Project, said: "I don't know enough about the details.

"After all," he added, "some of our other people were doing very dubious things, such as asking illegal immigrants for campaign contributions."

Segura was referring to Cannon's last re-election campaign, when an aide suggested on Spanish-language radio that illegal immigrants could donate to Cannon's campaign through U.S. citizens. Cannon later clarified in the same show that wasn't legal.

The issue sparked an investigation by the Federal Election Commission, which resulted in no penalties against Cannon, though two aides attended a seminar on election rules.

In letters to the Deseret Morning News, readers cited a 2005 news report to question whether Cannon had hired illegal immigrants himself. Cannon had told the San Diego Union-Tribune that when he was looking for a contractor to replace his roof, the lowest estimate came from a contractor who "uses labor that I suspect is illegal." The article didn't say whether Cannon hired that contractor.

"Cannon did not hire the contractor, and Congressman Cannon's shingles have yet to be replaced, as I understand it," Nathan Rathbun, Cannon's campaign manager, said this week.

Deseret Morning News readers also questioned the motives of those accusing Jacob, who during a debate last Saturday had said he had never knowingly hired illegal immigrants. Tony Yapias, who sent the accusations out on an e-mail list of about 1,000 people, said Jacob had been hypocritical when he denied hiring illegal immigrants.

Yapias was a key organizer of a protest march earlier this year when 25,000 participants called for legal status for undocumented immigrants. His group, Proyecto Latino de Utah, has endorsed Cannon because of his immigration position. Yapias is also chair of the Utah Hispanic Democratic Caucus.

"Most Latinos in Utah," he said, "hundreds of them, they would support Cannon on the basis of the issue because they believe we are due for immigration reform."

Cannon's other accuser, David Lifferth, an Eagle Mountain city councilman, has also openly endorsed Cannon over Jacob, saying Cannon is the more conservative candidate. Lifferth is also distantly related to Cannon through a cousin's marriage.

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Editor's note:Joe Cannon, the brother of Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, is a member of the Deseret Morning News board of directors.

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com