http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-906214.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – The meeting at the White House took place in the wake of Brewer's
signature on the toughest state law in the country aimed at
illegal immigration. Brewer said Arizona felt compelled to act
because of the failure of the federal government to secure the
border. She said much of her message to the president was to make
that a priority.
(I would like to see construction started on a fence on the
border. And I tried to get that kind of information from him
today. I was not successful. I was successful in getting the
promise that somebody would be out to Arizona within the next
couple of weeks to speak with my staff to give us the kind of
information they have available to present to us.)
Brewer said that includes exactly how many of those 12-hundred
soldiers will be in Arizona and how the president plans to divide
up the extra $500 million he wants Congress to approve for border
security. But Brewer said the pair did not discuss the state's
new immigration law or the possibility the federal government
will sue to have it declared illegal.
(He indicated that he was leaving that up to the Department of
Justice. He did not want to discuss that in any kind of detail
today. So that was kind of brushed over a little bit.)
The White House released a statement saying the president asked
Brewer to work with him on comprehensive immigration reform. That
includes a path to legalization for at least some of the 12
million illegal immigrants in the country. Brewer said that's
been tried before, referring to the 1986 law that allowed about
2.7 million people to get their green cards.
(And amnesty was bestowed upon people but we never secured the
border. But I believe the people of Arizona, the people of
America, want our borders secured. And then we can take up other
issues.)
For Arizona Public Radio this is Howard Fischer.