Immigration Debate Worries Democratic Governors
The federal government's lawsuit against Arizona's controversial new immigration law, which is set to go into effect at the end of the month, is forcing politicians up for re-election this year to grapple with the issue of immigration - a fact of life that many Democratic governors could do without in light of public support for the immigration measure.
The Democratic governors expressed deep concern to the White House over the weekend about the political impact of the Justice Department's lawsuit, the New York Times reports. They did so at a meeting in Boston, where governors were convened for the National Governors Association's annual summer meeting.
"Universally the governors are saying, 'We've got to talk about jobs,'" Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, told the Times. "And all of a sudden we have immigration going on."
He added: "It is such a toxic subject, such an important time for Democrats."
In Tennessee (where the term-limited Bredesen is set to retire), Republican candidates for governor are taking a hard stance on immigration. Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey -- who is trailing the other GOP candidates in a recent poll, but still beats the one Democratic gubernatorial candidate -- released a television ad this weekend calling for a law in Tennessee like the one in Arizona, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.
"Washington refuses to secure our border... and now President Obama's filed suit to stop Arizona from enforcing immigration laws," a narrator says in the ad. "As governor, Ron Ramsey will require police to check the citizenship of everyone they arrest. If you want a governor who will stand up to President Obama....there's only one choice: Ron Ramsey. Conservative for governor."
The Arizona law in question makes it a state crime for a person to be in the country illegally. It requires local law enforcement during all "lawful stops" to question a person about his or her immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that person may be in the country illegally.
The law has created a stark divide between opponents, who say it could lead to racial profiling, and supporters, who say it is necessary in the absence of federal enforcement of immigration laws. Polls taken since the law was passed suggest most Americans support the measure.
Nineteen Democratic governors are either leaving office or seeking re-election this year, the Times points out, and a swing in governorships to the GOP could have broad implications in light of the redistricting set to take place in the wake of this year's census.
"This is an issue that divides us politically, and I'm hopeful that their strategy doesn't do that in a way that makes it more difficult for candidates to get elected, particularly in the West," Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. of Colorado, a Democrat who pulled out of a re-election bid earlier this year, told the Times.
Some vulnerable Democrats in Congress are also expressing reservations about the Justice Department's lawsuit - and others are bluntly criticizing it. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona called it a "sideshow."
At the National Governors Association meeting, Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer called the lawsuit "outrageous," insisting the law is constitutional.
On CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Attorney General Eric Holder said the law is inconsistent with federal rules. The current lawsuit if predicated on objections to states interfering in an area reserved for the federal government; if the law is eventually enforced despite the challenge, Holder said the federal government could consider a separate suit grounded on the notion that it lead to racial profiling.