Since the Pete Wilson beginnings of a Latino backlash against politicians who talk insensitively tough against illegal immigration, victims of the backlash have loudly -- and, often, justifiably -- complained that their critics ignore the clear distinction they make between legal and illegal immigration.

The political difficulty in discussing illegal immigration from Mexico is that there is nearly no way to do it without stirring fear among Americans of Latino heritage.

A new survey released today by the Pew Hispanic Center documents the difficulty. It reports that 53 percent of Latino adults in America worry a lot (33%) or some (20%) that a close friend or family member could be deported. Among native-born Latino adults (by definition, U.S. citizens who have lived here at least 18 years), 32 percent have such a worry.

Among native-born Latinos, 53 percent say the immigration debate has made life more difficult for them -- 12 percent say they have been asked to prove their citizenship in the last year and 41 percent say they or a family member has experienced an incident of discrimination in the last five years. That number is up from 31 percent when pollsters asked the same question five years ago.

The political challenge remains more sensitive than ever: How can candidates honestly debate policies of border security and immigration enforcement and simultaneously assure Americans of Latino heritage that discussion will not fuel ethnic discrimination against them?