Arizona Immigration Bill Stirs War of Words in Congress

An immigration bill passed Monday by the Arizona legislature sparked sharp divisions on Capitol Hill Tuesday as lawmakers waited to see if the state's Republican governor would sign it into law. Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 would make it a state crime not to carry proof of immigration status and would require police to ask about a person's immigration status if there is any doubt.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) called on the governor to veto the bill, saying it amounts to "institutionalized discrimination and abuse." He warned that other states could follow suit if the bill becomes law.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois, said there could be severe consequences for Democrats in November if President Obama and others do not do enough to push back against it, including preempting the state law with federal law, or calling Gov. Jan Brewer and saying, "Don't do this."

"It seems to me that it is an option for people to stay home," Gutierrez said of Latino voters in 2010. "They don't necessarily have to fill out the Democratic ranks. They could just stay home. It is not what I have called for, but let me be clear, it's not an option I have ruled out."

Latino voters supported President Obama in 2008 by a 2 to 1 margin.

Tom Saenz, the executive director of the Mexican American Legal and Educational Fund, said that only the federal government has the authority to regulate immigration and predicted the Arizona law would be struck down by federal courts, just as California's Proposition 187 was in the 1990s. "That law was unconstitutional and unlawful and I expect similar challenges to SB 1070," Saenz said.

Sen. Jon Kyl, one of Arizona's two Republican senators, said that Arizona had no other choice than to take the lead on illegal immigration. Kyl joined Sen. John McCain Monday in calling for 3,000 National Guard troops to be deployed along the U.S.- Mexican border to respond to violence there.

"As long as the federal government has not adequately responded to the challenge of protecting the border, it is little wonder that states decide that they have to take action, especially if you're the state of Arizona," Kyl said. "To the extent that the state wants to step up and deal with the challenge, we've said that's a positive step. Whether some portions of the law will be open to legal challenge, I don't know."

The war of words over the Arizona law led to questions Tuesday about the chances of Congress passing comprehensive immigration reform this year, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently promised to do.

Gutierrez believes the Senate has to take up a measure between Memorial Day and July 4th to have a chance of passing a bill, and said that Obama and Democrats have to lead much more forcefully on the issue than they have so far.

"In the end it all comes back to the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and whether he will put his back into the push for comprehensive immigration reform," Gutierrez said. "The political imperative could not be more clear."

But Kyl, who is the Republicans' second-in-command in the Senate and co-sponsored immigration reform in the Senate in 2006, said a spike in violence along the border has profoundly changed the nature of the immigration debate. He also predicted that an immigration bill will not pass this year.

"The consensus that existed on this issue three years ago does not exist anymore," Kyl said. After detailing several areas where he said the federal government has failed to keep the border secure in a time of escalating violence, Kyl concluded, "Until that's done, it's going to be pretty difficult to get consensus on comprehensive immigration reform...If the object is to get it passed, obviously it's not ready yet."

Under Arizona law, Gov. Brewer has until Friday afternoon to decide whether she'll sign the law or veto it.