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Governor making border visit to review use of emergency funds

PHOENIX (AP)
11/02/2005

PHOENIX -- Gov. Janet Napolitano is touring the border today, saying she wants to see how cities, counties and the Tohono O'doham Nation are using the money she provided them with her declaration of emergency.
Napolitano's August action freed up $1.5 million that was awarded to police departments to help pay for overtime. The idea, she said, was not to keep people from coming across the border illegally -- something she said is a federal responsibility -- but to deal with the crime problems of illegal entry.

And the Tohono O'odham got some of the cash to help pay for the autopsies the tribe is required to perform on border crossers found dead in the desert.

But some of the Republican legislators she invited along on today's trip to Douglas, Nogales, Sells and San Luis think that August declaration was largely a political gesture. Senate President Ken Bennett pointed out the declaration came only a few days after a similar order by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, also a Democrat.

"It felt more like a political cover than an emergency," said the Prescott Republican. Bennett said if what is occurring on the border constitutes an emergency, it has been an emergency "long before she made such a declaration."

And House Majority Leader Steve Tully, R-Phoenix, questioned how much good $1.5 million does spread among agencies in four counties.

But both said they intend to go along today, though not to help Napolitano publicize the results of her declaration.

"I want to hear from our law enforcement and local elected officials as to what we can do to help them," said Bennett.

Napolitano said she shares that agenda. The governor said she wants to "talk to the folks on the ground, get a sense of what more they need to really get control of the situation."

The governor said neither the declaration nor today's trip are political.

"I guess under that theory I should do nothing about law enforcement and immigration until after the next election because it's political," she said. "Of course it's not, it's about doing the job and taking care of business."

Napolitano, up for reelection next year, has taken a series of high-profile actions in recent months to deal with the problems of illegal border crossers. That includes not only the emergency declaration but also allowing the Department of Public Safety to work with Customs and Border Patrol officers and an executive order requiring companies that do business with the state to ensure they are not hiring undocumented workers.

Those actions come after she publicly opposed Proposition 200 to deny benefits to those not here legally and require proof of identification to register and vote. Voters approved the measure anyway by a 12-point margin.

She also vetoed several bills earlier this year approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature, including expanding Proposition 200 to cover other state services, forbidding the use of Mexican consular ID cards for government services and another simply permitting -- and not requiring -- local police to enforce federal immigration laws.

All this comes as new surveys show more Arizonans believe immigration is more significant than any other issue facing the state.