Boxer, Fiorina Discuss Immigration, HP and Ads With Diane Sawyer

The two -- one a 3-term senator, the other a former CEO -- seek the U.S. Senate.

ByABC News
September 9, 2010, 7:05 AM

Sept. 9, 2010 — -- Both Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger, Carly Fiorina, have reputations for toughness and for not backing down: Boxer voted against the Iraq war and Fiorina rose to the top of American business at Hewlett Packard and Lucent at a time when it was rare to see a woman in the chief executive's suite.

But only one of these powerful women will prevail in the race for Boxer's U.S. Senate seat representing California.

The pair recently sat down with ABC News' Diane Sawyer to discuss immigration, Fiorina's role as CEO at HP and her recent battle with breast cancer. And on Sept. 1 in California, they mixed it up further during a feisty first debate that touched on the economy, Boxer's congressional record and Fiorina's tenure at HP.

In July on "Good Morning America," Fiorina said the controversial Arizona law that requires police to inquire about the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally was constitutional.

Fiorina said she was proud of the endorsements she'd received from the Hispanic community.

"They say: 'We can't have criminals crossing our borders in Arizona. We now know that we have Chinese crossing the border, Poles crossing the border, Canadians crossing the border in Arizona. And we also have a security challenge in Arizona. The federal government needs to do its job there and secure the border,'" she said.

Not surprisingly, Boxer differed on immigration.

"I have communicated with both sides [Democrats and the GOP] that it's essential to do comprehensive immigration," Boxer told Sawyer. "The laws on the books [regarding immigration] are not enough. Maybe Carly Fiorina thinks you can deport 12 million people. I don't think so."

Boxer said the moderate position was the right one.

"What you need is to make sure that they learn English, they pay fines, they pay their back taxes and they get in line so that they have a path to legality," said Boxer, who is trying for her fourth term in the U.S. Senate.