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Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo will make "a major announcement regarding the campaign" tomorrow afternoon in Iowa, a tantalizing tease that has sparked speculation about whether his candidacy may be coming to an end.

Tancredo has remained in single-digits in Iowa polls despite spending most of his time there over the last year. He has been focused almost exclusively on his opposition to illegal immigration, the top issue for likely GOP caucus-goers. In a recent Republican debate, Tancredo signaled that he was happy with the positions being espoused by his primary opponents on the issue. "For a guy who usually stands on the bookend here, aside, and just listens all the time, that's kind of frustrating, you know, in other debates. I have to tell you, so far, it's been wonderful," he said. "Because all I've heard is people trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo."

CBS News Chief Political Consultant Marc Ambinder reports that the "scuttle" is Tancredo will exit but no word yet on who he may endorse, if anyone. One source with ties to the campaign told CBSNews.com Tancredo is playing it close to the vest, but speculated that Fred Thompson would be a logical choice for Tancredo to back.

The Tancredo campaign did not respond to calls and e-mails inquiring about the announcement.

Give Tom Tancredo credit for one thing: When it came time to decline the invitation to attend this Sunday's Republican debate on Spansh-language channel Univision, he didn't opt for the flimsy "scheduling conflicts" excuse. Instead, he's saying that the very idea of a debate in Spanish is un-American.

“It is the law that to become a naturalized citizen of this country you must have knowledge and understanding of English, including a basic ability to read, write, and speak the language,” Tancredo said in a release. “So what may I ask are our presidential candidates doing participating in a Spanish speaking debate? Pandering comes to mind.”

Tancredo, whose campaign is centered on a hardline stance against illegal immigration, didn't go as far as saying speaking Spanish itself is a bad thing, but did say that it shouldn't be part of this race. "Bilingualism is a great asset for any individual but it has perilous consequences for a nation," he said. "As such, a Spanish debate has no place in a presidential campaign."

The Colorado congressman elaborated further on his decision in a Thursday op-ed in the Miami Herald, in which he said the debate tells recent legal immigrants that learning English isn't a priority and is disrespectful to those who have come to the U.S. from Spanish-speaking countries, writing "Is it not a little bit insulting to our new citizens who were born in Cuba or Mexico or Peru to suggest that political debates need to be translated into Spanish for them to understand what is going on?"

The decision makes sense politically: Tancredo's views on immigration would have made him a top target at the Univision debate, especially after the ad he unveiled this week that suggests illegal immigrants are responsible for bringing gangs into the U.S. who are "pushing drugs, raping kids, [and] destroying lives" – a statement that a large majority of the debate's Hispanic audience would see as inflammatory, and maybe even offensive. In other words, Tancredo would have nothing to gain and a lot to lose by attending.

Tom Tancredo's campaign announced today that it is running a new ad, “Consequences,” in Iowa. Like the previous Tancredo ad, it stresses the dangers of illegal immigration.

"Mothers killed. Children executed. The tactics of vicious Central American gangs, now on U.S. soil," intones a voiceover in the ad. "Pushing drugs. Raping kids. Destroying lives. Thanks to gutless politicians who refuse to defend our borders. One man dares say what must be done. Secure the borders. Deport those who don’t belong. Make sure they never come back."

Tancredo spokesman Alan Moore tells CBS News the campaign will "see what kind of reaction we get" before deciding how often to run the ad and whether to run it in other states. "It's not a one time thing at all," he says.

Moore said the point of the spot is to bring awareness about the effects of illegal immigration.

"When you don't know who's coming across your borders it's a very serious problem," says Field. "It's a lot of gang members, criminals, terrorists. That's not as well known as it needs to be."

Is he concerned that the campaign will be accused of fearmongering?

"They can call us whatever they want as long as the next president of the United States takes the necessary steps to secure our borders and enforce the laws of our nation," says Moore.

Vote for Tom Tancredo, or you are going to die.

OK, ok, so that's not the explicit message of the Republican presidential hopeful's new ad, "Tough on Terror." But it sure seems like the implicit one.

The spot opens with a figure in a hooded sweatshirt putting something in a backpack.

"There are consequences to open borders beyond the 20 million aliens who've come to take our jobs," says an announcer, a heartbeat sound effect pulsing ominously in the background. (A ticking time bomb effect is soon added as well.) "Islamic terrorists now freely roam U.S. soil. Jihadists who froth with hate here to do as they have in London, Spain, Russia."

As he says this, images from those attacks flash on the screen.

"The price we pay for spineless politicians who refuse to defend our borders against those who come to kill," the announcer says. We see the hooded figure leaving his backpack next to a bench in what appears to be a mall.

Then there is a cut to a black screen, and the sound of an explosion. Five words appear in white: "Tancredo...before it's too late."

The ad, which you can't easily see on YouTube because it has been classified as "inappropriate for some users," has already begun airing on cable television in Iowa.

Tancredo spokesman Alan Moore tells CBS News the campaign released the ad because "nobody is talking about the real threats to our country."

Field points out that while the Tancredo campaign was working on the ad, the FBI released a report suggesting that Al Qaeda may target shopping malls in the United States.

"This is very real," he says. "There is nothing fictional about this. This is a real threat. And that's why we're trying to get the message out."