This analysis is encumbered by few actual details of where she stands, but it does have this quote, apparently from a 2003 WABC Radio interview with John Gambling:

"I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants."

If the Times has this right -- and that's always a big if -- this is a model of, well, Clintonian positioning. It's something we've been seeing for a while from New York's ambitious junior Senator. And there does seem to be some conservative buzz to support the argument.

The Times quotes from a piece on the conservative website NewsMax.com.

"More than any other leader of either political party, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has been focusing on immigration reform and border security — taking hard-line positions that appeal to frustrated Republicans in a move that could guarantee her enough support in red states to win the White House in 2008." (The full NewsMax piece, I hate to admit, is worth reading.)

The Times also has a spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, leader of the immigration-restriction crowd, saying mildly positive things about Clinton.