Snow not bothered by mayor who rejects law
Says official not in position to circumvent immigration enforcement

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Posted: June 19, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern



© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Local government officials who openly advocate flouting federal immigration laws apparently are not a problem for the White House, according to an exchange yesterday between WND's Les Kinsolving and presidential spokesman Tony Snow.

At the daily press briefing yesterday, Kinsolving asked about Portland, Ore., Mayor Tom Potter's declaration: "I am angered by this morning's arrest by federal officers of approximately 150 Portland residents who were working at a local produce company."

Kinsolving asked, how does the president "ever expect to bring under control the illegal immigration problem when a mayor like Potter openly advocated overlooking existing federal immigration law regarding these 150 lawbreakers?"

The exchange then went like this:

SNOW: Was he not talking about an arrest, Lester?

WND: Yes.

SNOW: Well, then I hardly see that the mayor was in a position to circumvent the law.

Kinsolving also asked Snow about Republican Minority Whip Trent Lott's quoted remark on what stopped the immigration bill.

The Mississippi senator said, according to the New York Times, "Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem."

Kinsolving asked, "And since you are the first talk radio host ever to be a White House press secretary, can you tell us, have you or the President learned from Republican Trent Lott how he has in mind to deal with us without attempting censorship?"

Snow replied, "No, and I would refer it back to him. But on the other hand, also, when you talk about a stalled bill, I think it's pretty clear that is not a stalled bill."

Kinsolving said he made 11 attempts to call Lott's offices Friday and got only a busy signal or recorded announcement.

He asked the Associated Press office in Jackson, Miss., about Lott's quote and was told, "We haven't dealt with this."

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