Thread: Napolitano in D.C. for border push

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... s0906.html

Napolitano in D.C. for border push

Chris Ramirez
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 6, 2006 12:00 AM

Gov. Janet Napolitano called Tuesday for Congress to move more quickly toward approving a plan for comprehensive immigration reform.

Saying the country is already overdue for such a policy, she said she believes the slow pace is intentional. Earlier this year, the governor expressed strong support for immigration reforms proposed by President Bush, but Congress has not approved the measures.

"After all this . . . they (Congress) are still not dealing with immigration," she said. "This must happen in Washington, D.C. They must pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill."

Her comments came during a weekly media briefing Tuesday as the U.S. Senate reconvened, and one day before the House opens session. They also came on the heels of Labor Day demonstrations at the state Capitol, organized by protesters on each side of the debate.

Senior Republicans in Congress are expected to meet this week for a final decision on what to do this year about immigration policies. News reports this week have said the House and Senate expect to make domestic security the top priority for the rest of the year, downplaying immigration.

The issue is important to Arizona, which has emerged as a battleground in the fight over state and national immigration reform. The state played host to a number of congressional hearings during the summer to gather testimony from experts and those affected by immigration. A stated purpose of the hearings was to help formulate a new national policy.

One of the chief concerns in those hearings was how and whether voting has changed since the 2004 approval of Proposition 200. The law requires voters to show proof of citizenship before they cast ballots. For the most part, the debate over immigration in Arizona has moved on to questions of how to bolster the border against illegal immigration and whether tougher penalties should be enacted against people living in Arizona illegally and businesses that hire them.

Napolitano, a Democrat seeking re-election in November, dismissed the hearings as a tactic to delay legitimate reforms before the elections.

"It's a total abrogation of responsibility for Congress not to put this on the agenda and get it done," Napolitano said. "We're having these fake hearings . . . as opposed to getting around a table and really working it out."

Proposition 200 supporters say the measure guards against vote fraud and keeps unqualified voters from tainting elections.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas testified in one of the congressional hearings that 10 non-citizens who registered to vote were indicted recently. His office also is reviewing 149 cases involving non-citizens attempting to register.

They must pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill."

Why does this new bill have to be 'comphrensive'? How about we just enforce the laws already on the books!!! or pass a simple bill called 4437.

Agreed sippy! All we need to do is enhance border security, interior inforcement, and toughen sanctions on those employers hiring illegal immigrants. A comprehensive reform that establishes a guest-worker program and path to legalization are unecessary and an excessive waste of our (tax payer) dollars!