Reid ad calls Angle ad on illegal immigration ‘lies’

Sharron Angle's new ad that calls U.S. Harry Reid an "illegal alien's best friend" must have hit a nerve.

A day after its release, the Reid campaign responded with its own TV ad disputing Angle's contention that Reid supported "special tax breaks" for illegal immigrants and giving them Social Security benefits "even for the time they were here illegally."

"Sharron Angle's new attack ad -- more crazy talk and outright lies," Reid's new 30-second spot says. (Both ads are posted below.)

In the ad, Reid notes that he supported adding 400 miles to a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border as well as 4,000 border agents and drones to detect illegal border crossers.

The ad also says Reid "never has and never will support Social Security for illegal immigrants. He wrote the bill opposing it."

Actually, it wasn't a bill. But Reid sponsored Senate Resolution 551 in the summer of 2006 "expressing the sense of the Senate that illegal immigrants should not receive Social Security benefits and that this prohibition should be strictly enforced."

Around that time, there was heated debate over immigration reform and Republicans had accused Democrats and Reid of wanting to give non-citizens amnesty and even allow them to seek Social Security benefits that they may have paid while working illegally.

Nevada's GOP Sen. John Ensign was among Republicans who introduced bill amendments in 2006 to bar illegal immigrants who apply for legal status from collecting tax refunds or filing any claims for earned income tax credit or other tax benefits. And Reid voted against the measure, which is one of the votes the Angle camp points to as backing up its ad.

Illegal immigration is a hot-button issue in Nevada with an estimated 130,000 illegal workers in a state with a record-high 14.3 percent unemployment rate.

Reid also has been criticized by Angle for opposing a popular Arizona law that allows police to crack down on illegal immigrants.

The illegal immigration issue and the poor economy have made the Democratic incumbent vulnerable in the dead-heat contest against Angle.

Sharron Angle ad