Arizona immigration law: McCain says state had to crack down

(Posted by Uriel Rivera)

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/04/27/20100427arizona-immigration-law-mccain.html

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain says Arizona had to pass a tough immigration law because the Obama administration has failed to "secure our borders."

The Arizona Republican called the situation in his state "the worst I've ever seen," saying ineffective border enforcement has resulted in drugs pouring into the southwestern United States from Mexico.

McCain told CBS's "The Early Show" that over a million pounds of marijuana were intercepted on the border at Tucson just in the last year. He said he's talked to law enforcement officials and believes the new law can be implemented "without racial profiling."

Under the law set to take effect in late July or August, it would be a crime to be in the United States illegally.

Arizona immigration law revives calls for federal action on reform

(Posted Uriel Rivera)

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/04/24/20100424arizona-immigration-bill-federal-action.html
WASHINGTON - Arizona's new law cracking down on illegal immigrants has thrust the dormant issue of immigration reform back into the national spotlight.

Immigrant-rights advocates are showing a renewed urgency to push Congress and President Barack Obama to adopt a federal law combining tough enforcement with a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Obama said Friday that he agrees that the federal government must act to avoid "irresponsibility by others." He called Arizona's law "misguided" and instructed the Justice Department to examine whether the bill is a violation of civil rights.

"The recent efforts in Arizona ... threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe," Obama said at a ceremony in which immigrants on active duty for the U.S. military were sworn in as U.S. citizens.

Arizona immigration bill under fire in Washington

(Posted By Uriel Rivera)

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/04/20/20100420arizona-immigration-bill-criticized-politico.html

Hispanic lawmakers want President Barack Obama to intervene if Arizona's governor doesn't veto a sweeping anti-immigrant bill that would allow local police to arrest anyone they suspect might be an illegal immigrant.

"The governor of Arizona should veto the bill and if she doesn't the president of the United States Barack Obama should assert the federal government's preeminent role in regulating and enforcing our nation's immigration law," Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), said Tuesday.

The White House declined to comment.

Under the proposed Arizona law, which passed the state Senate Monday, police can arrest anyone on "reasonable suspicion" that they are an undocumented immigrant. If they're not carrying a valid driver's license or identity papers, police could make an arrest.

"The lunacy of rounding up people because they look a certain way or are suspected of being in violation of immigration statutes can only lead to one thing violations of people's basic, fundamental civil rights. Profiling," Gutierrez said.

But while Gutierrez criticized Republicans, he's also firing a warning shot at the White House, which has been slow to embrace comprehensive immigration reform.

"In the end it all comes back to the president of the United States and whether he will put his back into comprehensive immigration reform," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez warned of electoral payback if Democrats ignore the issue.

"The Republicans are so mean spirited and so anti-immigrant that they simply push immigrants and Latinos into the waiting arms of Democrats," Gutierrez said. "There is a third option for those voters. They don't necessarily have to fill the ranks of the Democratic Party. They can simply stay home."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/03/26/20100326janet-napolitano-immigration-reform.html

(Posted by Uriel Rivera)

Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday told a packed lecture hall at Arizona State University that the Obama administration is setting its sights on immigration reform.

"We're going to keep pushing this until we get it over the finish line," said Napolitano, who served as Arizona's governor, attorney general and U.S. attorney
before joining the Obama administration last year.

Napolitano emphasized that the United States has a sovereign right to secure its borders, and she touted a nearly 20 percent increase in the deportation rate of criminal illegal immigrants since President Barack Obama took office


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/03/26/20100326janet-napolitano-immigration-reform.html