Hugh Newton, who died last night after a short battle with bone marrow cancer, was a bluff, avuncular, ever-cheerful, much-loved Washington D.C. public relations executive who was part of the great generation of conservatives that came to power in the capital with the election of Ronald Reagan. But unlike many of that generation, he was always acutely aware of the new nation-breaking dangers posed by America's post-1965 immigration disaster. He helped me with the bitter controversies surrounding the publication of Alien Nation in 1995 - at one point even arranging a lunch with Tony Snow, then a columnist, who spent the entire meal not meeting my eye and never wrote anything. Newton also tried very hard, along with his close friend and colleague Herb Berkowitz, to get the Heritage Foundation, with which they were both associated, to take a stand on the immigration issue. I hope it was a comfort to Newton in his last days that Heritage has just recently - after twelve years - begun speaking out. It was not Hugh's fault that this may now be too late.

Let light perpetual shine upon him.