“The question is why has Thompson suddenly made enforcing current immigration laws an issue instead of when he was Senator?”
Because he’s a politician and he fully realizes that the illegal alien issue has come to the forefront after simmering on the back burner for years. And, actually, there was never a proposal to amnesty 12 million or more while he was a senator. In the end, maybe we should be pleased that politicians are finally beginning to listen to the mass of citizens on this issue rather than only listening to their biggest contributors.
And, since there was nothing like the “comprehensive” Bush/Kennedy/McCain monstrosity while he was in the Senate, we don’t know what position he would have taken. We should be pleased if a major contender makes tough proposals on this issue, and then watch him like a hawk if he wins the presidency.