Sentator Chuck Schumer, a left-wing lap-dog sent a whiny letter to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer asking her to postpone Arizona's tough new immigration laws.

May 6, 2010

The Honorable Jan Brewer
Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Dear Governor Brewer:

As Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, I am responsible for directing the Senate's immigration reform efforts and for conducting oversight of the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to secure our borders and ports of entry.

I write to you, after the passage of SB 1070, to propose a way forward to best address Arizona's legitimate security interests. Yesterday, you indicated that you signed SB 1070 into law in order to "finally inspire the politicians in Washington, D.C., to stop talking and to start action now." I cannot agree more that urgent federal action is necessary this year to address our broken immigration system––which currently produces an unsustainable situation where thousands of people cross our southern border illegally each day.

I fully appreciate that, as Governor of Arizona, you felt duty-bound to take action to address the security concerns in your state. But I simply do not believe the remedy Arizona has enacted will succeed in resolving the problem it is designed to address.
I oppose SB 1070, not only because it is wrong-hearted and is likely unconstitutional, but also because it will almost certainly fail to reduce illegal immigration into Arizona.

I propose an alternate approach. There is work currently being done in the Senate to produce a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill this year. This bill wouldhave four basic pillars: requiring high-tech, non-forgeable Social Security cards to ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs in the future; fulfilling and strengthening our commitments on border security and interior enforcement; creating a process for admitting temporary workers; and implementing a tough but fair path to legalization for those already here.

This plan will provide substantially more resources for border security than the 10-point border-only security plan recently introduced by Senators McCain and Kyl, and will do far more to address the root causes of illegal immigration by implementing a secure employment verification system to eliminate the ability for employers to hire illegal workers and by mandating completion of the U.S. VISIT system to ensure that visa overstays are apprehended and removed from the United States.
The only way to combat illegal immigration is through comprehensive immigration reform, as it is the only practical solution that can pass in both the House and Senate. A bipartisan bill would likely require completion of significant border security measures, such as the border reinforcements sought by Senators McCain and Kyl, before any other measures could take effect. A bipartisan bill would be a "border-first" bill, but it would not be a "border-only" bill because securing the border is a necessary but insufficient remedy for fixing our broken system.

I therefore ask you to call on Arizona's legislature to delay the date of enactment of SB 1070 for one year in order to permit Congress sufficient time to enact comprehensive immigration reform to address Arizona's security needs. This reform, however, cannot pass unless members from both sides of the aisle work together to reach a compromise. Consequently, I also ask that you publicly call on Senators McCain and Kyl to immediately begin discussions with me to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation before enactment of SB 1070 becomes necessary.

I thank you for your attention to this important matter, and look forward to working with you to protect the people of Arizona in a manner that is both effective and in accordance with America's finest values and traditions.

Sincerely,


Charles E. Schumer
Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees










Here is the letter Brewer sent in reply





The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Chairman
Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees
United States Senate
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Re: Correspondence on Border Security

Dear Senator Schumer:

I appreciate your interest in helping us secure our border and recognizing my duty as Governor to address the public security concerns of Arizonans.

Arizona's border regions, extending into metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson, have become increasingly lawless because the federal government has not effectively controlled our international border and enforced its immigration laws. The federal government's policy of securing the border in the El Paso and San Diego areas has turned Arizona into the superhighway of illegal drug and human smuggling activity. The City of Phoenix has earned the dubious distinction of being the kidnapping capital of the United States, ranking only second behind Mexico City in the world. Busts of drop houses, where illegal immigrants are often held for ransom and otherwise severely abused, are not uncommon occurrences in some Arizona neighborhoods.

Given these circumstances, I am sure you can understand that waiting a year or more based on another federal promise of getting serious this time is not an option for Arizona. As has been said here, calling for comprehensive immigration reform before securing the border is like asking for comprehensive energy policy reform before stopping the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

Here is my diagnosis of the problem and the way forward. Congress and successive Administrations (both Republican and Democrat) have lost all credibility with the American people, and Arizonans in particular, regarding border security and interior enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Unfortunately, I understand that the consensus in Washington D.C. is that nothing will be done legislatively on immigration this year and any promises of action for the rest of the year are part of some national political strategy. Neither side of the immigration debate will be fooled by that strategy. This non-action will only build the sense of alienation that Americans feel toward a federal government that won’t solve problems that affect their everyday lives. It will be more of the same “promise something, do nothing, blame someone” political spin from Washington.

How do you build credibility on immigration issues? You need to show that the federal government can do something immediately to address border security and restore interior enforcement. We do not need new federal laws, but rather action by President Obama and sufficient funding from the Congress to secure the border and enforce our current laws.

The action taken must also be significant. To that end, I would propose that the federal government adopt a “surge” strategy. The Border Surge would continue until the border is secured as demonstrated by facts on the ground and integrity is restored to our interior immigration enforcement. Thereafter, the federal government would need to keep the resources necessary on the ground to maintain a secure border and enforce its immigration laws.

What would the federal Border Surge consist of? A good place to start would be the Border Security Plan that I announced in April and the multiple requests I have sent to President Obama and his administration regarding specific, immediate actions that should be taken. I have attached those for your review.

In addition, I ask you to give another look at the ten-point border security proposal by Senators McCain and Kyl. It is based, in part, on the border security plan of the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association developed in reaction to their everyday experiences of living and working on the border and in tribute to their fellow member, the late Robert Krentz, who was killed on his ranch earlier this year.

In summary, I would highlight the following four categories of actions that would prove very helpful to the State of Arizona in the proposed Border Surge:

1. Send the National Guard troops back to the border and increase the number of Border Patrol agents. The bi-partisan group of border governors requested the redeployment of the National Guard over a year ago. Then-Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano believed the National Guard was very helpful on the border under Operation Jump Start and unsuccessfully fought the Bush Administration when they were removed. Border governors renewed their joint request in April of this year. A particular need that has been identified is for more aerial support. My border security plan announced last month has redeployed Arizona’s very limited aerial resources to the border regions, and I have asked for additional support. I am happy to hear the President recently recognize that our border challenges require a National Guard response. However, I am not satisfied with the lack of specifics in his proposal. I hope to hear more when I meet with him today.

2. Complete a real border fence. The President's proposed budget provides no funds for completion of the border fence. Arizona's problem was caused in large part by the federal strategy of building a border fence only in the El Paso and San Diego areas in the 1990s. The construction and continual repair of a secure, and complete, border fence has to be part of the solution. The State of Arizona stands ready to assist in this effort. We have state prisons near the border and will supply inmate labor to build these fences in a cost-effective manner.

3. Fund federal agencies to be able to enforce current immigration laws. The McCain-Kyl Plan has a whole series of proposals to increase resources to under-manned and under-coordinated federal agencies. These proposals include funding additional Border Patrol stations in the Tucson Sector, increasing aerial assets along the border, and improving real-time radio/electronic communications capability among the different federal agencies and with state and local law enforcement agencies. Congress should also ensure adequate funding is appropriated to meet detention, processing, prosecution and other costs that result from a legitimate commitment to securing the border and enforcing federal immigration laws.

4. Reimburse Border States for costs related to the federal government’s failure to secure the border. For example, Congress has failed to reimburse the States and localities for their costs of incarcerating criminal aliens under the existing State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. The State of Arizona and localities spend upwards of $150 million per year for criminal aliens in our prisons and jails. Another example is the burden on our county sheriffs dealing with all this drug and human smuggling activity. The federal government should fully fund the existing Operation Stonegarden, a program that provides funding to border law enforcement agencies. Senators McCain and Kyl have proposed increasing federal funding by $40 million for a total of $100 million.

As you know, problems do not wait for when it is politically convenient to address them. When I assumed office over a year ago, Arizona faced the worst budget deficit in the nation on a per capita basis. I proposed, and the Arizona Legislature passed, a budget that made many painful cuts. The State of Arizona has reduced its workforce by over 10 percent and cut over $2 billion out of roughly a $10 billion budget. State employees, including myself, are taking a 5% pay cut to balance the state budget. And on May 18, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved increasing the state sales tax by 1% for three years to support education, public safety and heath needs.

Arizonans, and I believe all Americans, expect their leaders to make the tough calls whether on the budget or on securing our border. If the federal government won’t secure the border, the State of Arizona will step in to complement federal efforts in a constitutional manner and protect the security of its citizens.

I believe the Border Surge strategy is the only way forward. Everyone agrees that our border is broken. Let’s do something. I sincerely desire to work with the Arizona delegation, you and your colleagues in Congress and the Obama administration on this strategy.

Sincerely,



Janice K. Brewer
Governor

Jan's a great gal. She has alot more tact than I do, taking the time to send a well-written, lengthy response to Chuckie the Asshole who deserved no response.

Unfortunately that's what a politician has to do. That's reply was about as strongly worded as possible, but she got her point across and made Schumer look like the clueless windbag he is. I tend to hate all politicians, but Jan just might get me to change my mind. She's one of the few that's willing to do something.

The question is, however: Is she doing it because its the right thing to do, or to advance her own political career? She can't be lockstep with one party's talking points, take on one issue, and then deride her own party and the opposition to score political brownie points and cash in on the tea party movement. Comes across as disingenuous/hypocritical as much as it does good policy.

The "surge" has already been happening for some time. Quietly, 30,000 "troops" have been amassed at the border with much less fanfare than Afghanistan's "surge" received.

Is there a single politician alive that would ever do the right thing over the thing best for their career? If so I have not heard of him/her. But in this case, I think Jan is managing to kill two birds with one stone. Things in that area are awful, there might be more illegals in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico than legit US citizens. It might be a big, splashy gesture designed by a PR expert, but if you've ever traveled in that area you'd know something had to be done and Washington wouldn't step up, so Jan had to.

Unfortunately, I doubt Arizona's budgetary woes are any better than their neighbors, and it's hard to see how they could sustain enforcement using state budgets without getting Fed dollars for it. In the end, there will probably be too many cooks in the kitchen to make such laws work. We'll have state and federal agencies all doing their own thing and trying to piece it all together on the back end. Illegals will be like nuclear waste, as they'll likely not know what to do with them and no one will want to take them. Then, there is still the matter of paying for it all.

Maybe. Hell, probably. But is the solution to keep the chefs out of the kitchen entirely and admit failure before even making the attempt? Nobody has done anything, so Arizona was forced to try something. If this isn't the right solution maybe they'll learn something that will lead to a better plan. The one thing we know for sure is that doing nothing wasn't working, if they're going to strike out it's better that they go down swinging.

The thing is though, a LOT of money has been thrown at the problem and a lot of manpower. However, if nothing happens after the initial point of entry, what good is it? We can "surge" all we want but if companies still exploit the cheap labor, and are allowed to do it, people will still find a way to get in. Doing more of the same and expecting different results= insanity.
Mexico has to own up to their own dismal economy and unemployment too and stop blaming America for all their woes. (While we simultaneously funnel billions in support their way.)