By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor

If there’s one Republican politician who has become associated with the GOP’s strongest anti-illegal immigration rhetoric, it’s Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo.

Tancredo, who ran last year for the Republican presidential nomination in a campaign based mostly on his hardline immigration approach, is retiring from Congress.

The Colorado representative leaves Washington not a highly popular figure — especially among supporters of comprehensive immigration reform.

In an article about his announcement, The Associated Press said,

Tancredo was called racist for presidential campaign ads that suggested Latino immigrants are rapists and drug dealers. He once said Miami was like a Third World country because of its growing non-English-speaking population. He suggested America should threaten to destroy Islam’s holy city of Mecca in case of a future terrorist attack.

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