Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer agrees with Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s prognosis that their party will suffer if it pursues amnesty for illegal immigrants, asking, “How many times do we have to go through this? The border needs to be secured.”
Brewer spoke with Fox News’ Stuart Varney on Friday about the immigration debate, which has picked up in recent weeks after years of inaction. Rumor has it that Republican leadership will work with the Obama administration to enact a “pathway to citizenship” for the estimated 12 million immigrants here illegally. Some in the party — including Cruz — call this strategy a serious blunder that may jeopardize their hopes for the Senate in the fall.
The Arizona governor agreed. “I think that Senator Cruz is correct,” she said.
“I think at the point that we are at today, our people want solutions found. But before any solutions are found though, we need our border secured.” She noted that even her own state, border security was spotty at best. “The Tucson sector is not secured, it’s wide open,” she claimed. “How many times do we have to ask the federal government to come into the state of Arizona and just look at it? President Obama doesn’t come. The Homeland Security people, they come but they don’t talk to me.”
Brewer’s heard promises of increased border security after amnesty before, and this time she isn’t buying it.
“My hero, Ronald Reagan, promised us that the border would be secured, and he gave amnesty back in 1986,” she explained. “And he didn’t do that! How many times do we have to go through this? No, we fought too hard. The border needs to be secured and they need to understand that. And if everybody is so concerned about resolving this, don’t they hear the American people calling out? Secure our border! Do your job!”
The hard-line governor also told Varney she would “throw out” all illegal immigrants if she could. “Wow,” Varney reacted. “That’s a tough stance.”
“Maybe I’m being too harsh,” Brewer admitted. “Particularly with the DREAMers. But nobody is going to come to the table and try to resolve that until the border is secured.”
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