Gov. Jan Brewer said Wednesday she will deliver a three-word answer Thursday when the president details all his administration is doing to secure the border: It's not working.
Brewer said she believes a "sit-down, face-to-face conversation about securing our border" with Obama will produce results.
"We haven't had that opportunity," the governor told Capitol Media Services ahead of today's scheduled meeting at the White House.
The governor said she specifically wants details from Obama about his latest plans for improving border security. That includes her questions about how many of the 1,200 National Guard soldiers he plans to deploy to the Southwest will be put in Arizona and how he plans to use an additional $500 million he wants Congress to approve.
But that's not all. She wants to know if Obama plans to complete fencing along the border and whether there will be additional aerial support.
"If not, then I want to give him my proposal," Brewer said. "And that includes all of those things."
The administration has responded to criticism of its border security efforts by providing a list of everything that has changed since Obama took office more than a year ago. That includes more Border Patrol agents, intelligence analysts and equipment.
And the White House said the president wants to provide those details to the governor.
"It isn't enough," Brewer said in response. "It's not working."
She said about 1,000 people cross into Arizona illegally from Mexico each day.
"We are paying the price for the illegal activity, we're paying the price for the incarceration, we're paying the price for the education, we're paying the price for the health care," the governor said. "People don't feel safe in their houses. We cannot continue down that path."
The Department of Homeland Security, asked for a response, said the statistics show there is less crime in border communities while the number of arrests and seizures of illegal drugs are up.
Brewer said she and state officials are willing to work with Obama to secure the border.
"But we need the federal government's help," she said. "It's their responsibility."
Brewer and Obama also are likely to discuss her decision to sign SB 1070 which creates new obligations on police to check for illegal immigrants and makes being in this country illegally a violation of state law.
Obama has been critical of Arizona enacting its own immigration laws. But he also has conceded that the federal government has failed in its responsibilities to secure the border - precisely the reason Brewer said she felt Arizona needed to act on its own.
But the governor said that she's not willing to make SB 1070 a negotiating chit with the president, or even to ask lawmakers to delay its implementation to give Obama time to show that he has an effective plan to secure the border.
"We have waited and we have looked for help and we have searched for help with no response, not only with this administration but with the prior administration," Brewer said.
Anyway, the governor said she sees SB 1070 as a move "to help the federal government do their job." She said the state laws on illegal immigration simply mirror what is in federal law.
Slabside posted at 4:14 pm on Wed, Jun 2, 2010.
This should be a very short meeting. Obama is not doing SQUAT about securing the border.
samkat posted at 5:19 pm on Wed, Jun 2, 2010.
If anything, he will tell her about his" wait and wait" with eventual open borders and unconditional amnesty approach as opposed to implementing an effective border and interior program.
IceCat posted at 6:40 pm on Wed, Jun 2, 2010.
This is all for show, okay it's for her re-election bid. In regards to the fence, since Congress funds projects like this, she should be complaining to Senators Kyl and McCain. As Governor she has the authority, to send the Arizona National Guard to the border, but did she? Nope. So 1,000 people cross daily, well that's quite a bit less than what the Pew Research (article is in Newsweek)stated last week, 500,000 a year, or maybe her math is bad.
Accuracy posted at 6:42 pm on Wed, Jun 2, 2010.
Over a year now, President Barack Obama has been talking about, and has been promising, to crack down on border violence and work with Mexican authorities to curb drugs and arms trafficking.
It is highly unexpected that he will change his point of view on the issue and even talk about doing more to secure the nation's borders.
Obama has criticized Arizona's illegal-immigration law that has prompted fierce debate across the nation. To Obama, it is taking a hard stand against those in the country illegally, and thinks the law might encourage racial profiling and discrimination against Hispanics.
No way will Obama work with Gov. Jan Brewer to get borders secured done.
Accuracy posted at 6:44 pm on Wed, Jun 2, 2010.
Over a year now, President Barack Obama has been talking about, and has been promising, to crack down on border violence and work with Mexican authorities to curb drugs and arms trafficking.
It is highly unexpected that he will change his point of view on the issue and even talk about doing more to secure the nation's borders.
Obama has criticized Arizona's illegal-immigration law that has prompted fierce debate across the nation. To Obama, it is taking a hard stand against those in the country illegally, and thinks the law might encourage racial profiling and discrimination against Hispanics.
No way will Obama work with Gov. Jan Brewer to get borders secured done. He
Marcus Gallio posted at 2:42 am on Thu, Jun 3, 2010.
Jan should call this clown out. He's a boy doing a man's job. Send him and his bull horn back to the ghetto of Chicago where he belongs.
wdgnas posted at 4:33 am on Thu, Jun 3, 2010.
saint ronald of reagan gave amnesty in 1986 which led to the open borders policy we have today. why haven't the feds been enforcing a law that has been on the books for 25 years? i am shocked...
stan000 posted at 8:12 am on Thu, Jun 3, 2010.
Anybody really expect a Democrat president to do anything to block future Democrat voters? It just isn't going to happen, they will continue to let illegals come until they manage to get another amnesty passed to make them all legal.