http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/07/post_688.html

Congressman Mo Brooks: Empower states to deal with illegal immigration
Published: Sunday, July 24, 2011, 7:37 AM Updated: Sunday, July 24, 2011, 8:14 AM
Steve Doyle, The Huntsville Times By Steve Doyle, The Huntsville Times

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks plans to introduce a bill in Congress that would give Alabama and other states broad powers to deal with illegal immigration.

Brooks, R-Huntsville, mentioned the idea during a Saturday town hall meeting that also highlighted the tense budget debate in Washington.

The former Madison County commissioner said he believes the federal government has been "derelict in its duty" when it comes to enforcing immigration rules.

"There are exceptions (in the law) that you can drive a Mack truck full of illegal aliens through," he said.

Brooks said his bill would empower state governments to come up with their own solutions for dealing with undocumented workers.

Alabama's new Republican-controlled Legislature recently passed a sweeping immigration law that makes it a crime not to have papers showing you're in Alabama legally, and bars knowingly renting to, transporting or hiring an illegal immigrant.

However, nearly 40 plaintiffs, including the Huntsville-based AIDS Action Coalition, filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month seeking to have the law blocked.

Their suit argues that the law violates a host of constitutional guarantees, including freedom of religion and protection against unlawful searches.

Brooks acknowledged that his proposed bill is a long shot with Republicans and Democrats so far apart on how to deal with illegal immigration.

"But that doesn't mean you don't try, because sometimes underdogs win," he said after the meeting. "My goal is to keep introducing it year after year, slowly gaining support, until it finally does pass."

Saturday's event at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library capped a whirlwind week that saw Brooks, little known outside the Rocket City a year ago, appear on MSNBC twice to make a case for a balanced federal budget.

On Monday, Brooks went toe-to-toe with the Rev. Al Sharpton. Two days later, he had a testy exchange with the cable network's Contessa Brewer about rising deficits.

"Do you have a degree in economics?" Brewer asked sarcastically.

"Yes, ma'am, I do, highest honors," said Brooks, who double-majored in economics and political science at Duke University.

"Sometimes, you just get lucky with a question," Brooks told the audience Saturday.

The freshman lawmaker said it's a "100 percent economic certainty" that the United States will go bankrupt if it continues racking up trillion-dollar budget deficits year after year.

He likened the problem to a person with a $50,000 salary spending $80,000 a year - while also trying to pay off a $320,000 Visa bill.

Brooks said foreign entities now own 47 percent of America's debt. China alone earns enough interest from the U.S. to potentially buy three new joint strike fighter jets every week, he said.

"We are helping them build up their military," Brooks said. "If they end up being a foe ... we are the ones who have empowered them to be aggressive, and perhaps to be aggressive successfully."

The solution, in Brooks' view, is a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget phased in over several years. He said that's the only way he would agree to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

In response to an audience question about illegal immigration, Brooks gave a milder answer than he did at a similar forum last month.

During that earlier meeting, Brooks said he supports any measure "short of shooting them" that would force illegal immigrants back to their home countries.

U.S. Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-Texas, and other Hispanic leaders condemned Brooks' remarks. The group Somos Republicans! (We Are Republicans!) called on him to "stop bashing illegal immigrants, and instead work with his colleagues on a complete overhaul of our broken immigration system."

On Saturday, Brooks said he would support anything "that you can lawfully do" to deter illegal immigration.