Brewer: Obama immigration speech "helpless"by Jim Cross/KTAR and Associated Press (July 1st, 2010 @ 11:06am)

PHOENIX -- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says President Barack Obama's speech on immigration reform provided no answers to the problem.

"What a helpless speech," Brewer told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR by phone from Sedona, where she had a speaking engagement Friday.

"Where's the action?" Brewer asked. "He described perfectly my opinion of the complete failure of the federal government, something that has been failing the people of America for a decade or more."

She added, "The bottom line is that we are a nation of laws and they have to be complied with. And, if they are not, we will fall. We have chaos in Mexico, and we are beginning to experience the same kind of chaos in Arizona."

She said, "The system is broken, the border is broken. We all know what we need... People in Arizona have made it very, very clear. Let's talk about the problem that is at hand. Let's secure the border."

The Arizona governor, a Republican, met with Obama at the White House last month after she signed a tough immigration enforcement law, which requires police enforcing other laws to clarify a person's immigration status if there's reason to believe that person is in the U.S. illegally. The law, which goes into effect July 29, is being challenged in court and the Justice Department is reviewing it to decide if the feds will join the challenges.

Brewer said said if Obama "is going to leave it up to the states to do what the feds should be doing, then maybe that's what's going to have to take place. First things must come first and that is securing our border, all the way from California through Texas."

Brewer said she would appreciate a little respect from the President by having him come to Arizona "to look at our border and see what we are putting up with on a daily basis."

In his speech Friday, Obama did not dwell on the Arizona law, although he called it an understandable byproduct of public frustration with the federal government's inability to address the problem. But, he said the Arizona law is ill-conceived, divisive and would put undue pressure on local authorities.

A prominent Arizona legislator said he was "offended" by the President's speech.

Republican Rep. John Kavanagh called Obama's address at American University in Washington, D.C., a ``political speech'' that, in Kavanagh's words, ``probably annoyed everybody.''

According to Kavanagh, Obama was trying to convince Hispanics that he's doing something about immigration when he really isn't. And Kavanagh says the speech was a disappointment to those who want increased border security and internal enforcement.

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl agreed with Brewer that the border must be secured before Congress overhauls the immigration system. Kyl said the president blamed Republicans for stalling immigration reform.

"It was very political," Kyl told Fox News. "On the one hand, he says we need bipartisanship, and then he slams Republicans."

He added, "It's our job to secure the border, whether or not we end up passing so-called comprehensive immigration reform."

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for governor in this fall's elections, called the president's plan long overdue and urgently needed.

"Based on the president's outline this morning, it appears he's proposing a responsible plan that deserves the immediate attention of Congress," Goddard said.

"The President is offering a common sense path for illegal immigrants to get right with the law by passing a criminal background check, paying a fine, paying back taxes and learning English. These are all steps I have long endorsed," Goddard said.

He said the failure of Congress to act long ago is part of what led to Arizona's new law and the divisiveness it has generated.

Goddard said the President didn't go far enough, however, in addressing border security.

"He said the border is more secure now than it has been in 20 years, but drug cartel murders and other violence south of the border are peaking and present a growing threat to the people of Arizona. The president needs to do more to support our efforts to fight the cartels and increase border security."

Goddard called on the President to work closely with members of Congress and give them an immediate timetable to consider his proposals. He added that Arizona's congressional delegation "should provide bipartisan leadership to pass the reforms that Arizona so desperately needs."