DENVER -- Rep. Tom Tancredo, whose hard-line immigration stand has stirred disagreement among fellow Republicans, has announced he will no longer talk to newspaper reporters.

Tancredo (pictured, left) will communicate with print journalists only through written statements, but will still grant face-to-face interviews with radio and television reporters, spokeswoman Lara Kennedy said Monday.

Kennedy said she could not cite any specific news article that prompted the change.

Tancredo, an advocate for strict immigration controls, is seeking a third two-year term in the Nov. 5 election.

Last month, he demanded immigration officials deport Jesus Apodaca, who immigrated illegally from Mexico and went on to graduate with honors from Aurora Central High School.

Tancredo learned of Apodaca from a story in The Denver Post last month about laws preventing colleges from offering financial aid to illegal immigrants.

On Thursday, Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, also a Republican, introduced a bill in Congress to give Apodaca and his family permanent resident status.

Republican political consultant Katy Atkinson said she was surprised by Tancredo's announcement because he is known for openness.

"Tom has always been more than willing to be incredibly candid with the press. I've seen him sit down and talk with the press about very sensitive issues. This is a real about-face," Atkinson said.

Tancredo made the decision after catching heat from the media over his decision not to honor his term-limits pledge.

In 1994, Tancredo was head of the Colorado Term Limit Coalition and strongly supported term limits for elected representatives.

'We want to reinvigorate the electoral process by introducing people into the system who think of government service as a temporary endeavor, not as a career,' said Tancredo in a 1994 interview. He was elected to Congress on a pledge to serve no more than three terms.

Last week, Tancredo reversed himself and said he wouldn't be limited by the previous commitment.

"You can characterize it as breaking a pledge," Tancredo was quoted as saying in the Rocky Mountain News last week.

He has also been a lightning rod for those who support and those who oppose, his stance on immigration.

In April the Republican lawmaker said he received a 40-minute scolding from Karl Rove, President George Bush's top political adviser, for his statements in The Washington Times about immigration.

Tancredo told the newspaper that he believes Bush supported amnesty for certain illegal immigrants partly to woo Hispanic voters in California and Texas and to prop up Mexican President Vicente Fox.