WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he agrees that more control must be exerted over illegal immigration, but he won’t accept “a patchwork of 50 different states” acting on their own.
Obama tells CBS he believes immigration control advocates “are absolutely correct.” But he also says “what we can’t do is demagogue the issue.” The president tells anchor Harry Smith he wants to “work with Arizona,” while insisting that national immigration policy cannot be left to “anybody who wants to make a name for themselves.”
Arizona has appealed a federal judge’s ruling striking down key provisions of its law reining in illegal immigration. A federal appeals court has decided not to immediately get into the case, leaving the state to consider other steps it might take in the meantime.