Thread: Arizona Law Causes Split for Governors Sharing Border

July 6, 2010

Arizona Law Causes Split for Governors Sharing Border
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

PHOENIX — For nearly 30 years, the governors of the states that line both sides of the United States-Mexico border have gathered to celebrate border bonhomie. They issue proclamations and pledges to work together, air grievances and concerns behind closed doors and pose for the cameras in symbolic showings of cooperation.

But this year the 28th annual conference has collided headlong with Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration, inspiring bitter recriminations among Mexican governors and rancor among some American ones.

Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona has championed the new state law that gives local police officers broader authority to question people they stop about their immigration status. On Tuesday, the United States Justice Department filed suit to challenge the law.

Ms. Brewer happens by rotation to be the chairwoman and host of this year’s conference, scheduled for September at a resort in Phoenix. But after all six Mexican border governors wrote to her to say they intended to boycott the gathering to protest the new law, Ms. Brewer sent a letter of her own last week to the governors on both sides of the border saying she was canceling the whole conference.

“I am disappointed by your decision,â€

Polls in the United States may show that a majority of Americans support the Arizona law, or at least the concept of a state’s playing a greater role in immigration enforcement, but abroad the law is strongly opposed and has raised concerns at the State Department that it could strain diplomatic relations with Latin America.

Who freaking cares what Latin America thinks!!! They can go pound sand for all I care. When you going to start caring about what Americans think??

This is all wrong. The Mexican governors have had their say. They have lodged their protest immature and childish reasoning and level of intelligence and truthfulness exposed for the world to see. It is their turn to now attempt to salvage the conference. . . . on the U.S. side of the border. For anybody in the U.S. to travel to Mexico at this time when government officials of all categories are considered targets by the cartels it would not be wise for any U.S. official to travel within that narco-terrorist state. Mexico likes the status quo and there will be no negotiating with them about anything until they are reassured that it will continue. Since we the people will not allow it to continue it would be wise for us now to boycott produce from Mexico as well since they may choose to poison citizens as an act of war because despite what people wish to portray this as - war is what it is and will be because other than Governor Brewer, there is no leadership to prevent it.

It should have been Gov. Brewer who refused to attend the Conference in the first place.

It is AZ and its citizens who are being attacked and harmed by Mexico . I wish she had written a letter to all the Govenors CONDEMING Mexico for sending their poorest citizens,drug cartels and other criminals to sponge off its neighbor and for not controlling their borders.

The Mexican governors can take their toys(cartels, corruption, illegal aliens...) and just stay home. We don't need any governmental advice from them. It's pretty obvious we can't rub off on them either or it would have already of happened by now. The "conference" is just a waste of time and money.

Dixie