Gary Tuchman
360 Correspondent

Langer's Delicatessen has been in business in the same building, in the same neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles for more than 60 years.

The owner, Norm Langer, proudly touts what his signs say the best pastrami sandwiches in the world. Many of his customers are Latin American immigrants, who are normally not considered a prime demographic for pastrami.

But this part of L.A., next to MacArthur Park, is now heavily Latino, particularly Mexican. It's one of countless neighborhoods throughout the United States that have changed dramatically as more and more Latinos move legally, and illegally into this country.

In this neighborhood, many non-Latinos have the same opinion as owner Langer. He tells us, "I think immigration is fine, as long as it's done legally."

But he thinks it's unrealistic to send illegal immigrants back and thinks efforts to bring in legal immigrants should be streamlined. You can easily find people in this neighborhood who would like to see significant efforts made to find illegals and send them home.

Harold Gustchen lives near the delicatessen.

He says he "hates" having so many illegals around, saying their arrival has led to the deterioration of his neighborhood. He also tells us, "It infuriates me that these people come over here and have more freedom then many people in America."

Does racism help power this volatile immigration debate that we've been hearing during this presidential campaign?

Gustchen says, "I'm not racist, but I hate everybody if this is how you're going to be acting."

Many pro-immigrant groups say they hear that view all the time, and claim it does have racist undertones. And they believe some presidential candidates have capitalized on that feeling as they talk about guest workers, border fences, or amnesty programs.

Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles says, "I can see some presidential candidates being extremely disrespectful, extremely irresponsible in discussing immigration."

She doesn't say the candidates themselves are racists, but says, "many of the candidates have used immigration as a wedge issue." She says she believes that leadership in "the anti-immigrant movement is fueling racism and bigotry into the debate."

One such group that some describe as "anti-immigration" strongly disagrees with that characterization. CAPS, or Californians for Population Stabilization, says after decades of mass immigration, their state can no longer absorb all the immigrants and still maintain a decent quality of life for legal residents. The group advocates saying no to amnesties, reducing legal immigration, and not allowing children of illegal immigrants to become citizens like they are today.

Mark Cromer, who is a senior writing fellow with the group, says broad-brush racism charges against groups like his are an unfair smear saying, "I certainly believe the allegation is used to silence opponents of illegal immigration."

CAPS says it has nothing against Latino immigrants; it is against all "illegal immigration."

Indeed, polls show most Americans are against "illegal" immigration.

In Langer's Delicatessen we talked with Latinos and non-Latinos alike who are against it. But there is a wide range of opinion about how to deal with it. Everyone we talked with says racism has no place in the debate. But whether it's happening anyway - is also part of the debate.

Watch Anderson Cooper 360 to see what people are saying about race, politics and immigration. Tonight at 10 p.m. ET.