Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo pushed the pedal on his get-tough-on-illegal-immigration stance Tuesday and didn’t let up.

Bringing his Save America Tour to Sioux City in a final push for a strong showing in Saturday’s straw poll in Ames, the U.S. congressman from Colorado hit the immigration topic from the beginning.

During the hourlong event, he briefly referenced high gas prices and universal health care and was asked about abortion and taxes, but Tancredo said the defining issue of the times is dealing with illegal immigration, which he said undermines the future of America.

In fact, Tancredo, who also  stopped in Sheldon, Sioux Center and Hull on Tuesday, said one reason he decided to run for president was to highlight how upset Americans are with the 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants who are a drain on resources and the nation’s culture.

Bay Buchanan, a key Tancredo adviser and a sister of three-time presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, said she asked Tancredo to run for president to be the face of the illegal immigration issue, and she is glad he did.

Whether they are Republicans or Democrats, Buchanan said, “America will no longer tolerate amnesty politicians.”

Frequently receiving applause from the 45 people at the Quality Inn, Tancredo said illegal immigration, generally coming across the nation’s southern borders, puts much pressure on schools and medical facilities and also harms the environment when illegal crossings damage pristine lands. There are concerns that “porous borders create national security problems” and that illegal immigrants push illegal drugs, he added.

But the most disconcerting aspect of illegal immigration, Tancredo said, is the “bilingualization” of America. He held up a copy of the Ottumwa (Iowa) Courier, lamenting an edition published in both English and Spanish. He said the acceptance of the “push 1 for English, 2 for Spanish” on phone messages is just another sign of what he called the cult of multiculturalism.

(The Sioux City Journal is a Lee Enterprises newspaper.)

Bret Hayworth may be reached at  (712) 293.4203 or  brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com