Administration weighs response to Arizona immigration law

Less than a week after Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the toughest immigration law in the country, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said it actually could hurt federal efforts to enforce immigration laws.

"We have some deep concerns with the law from a law enforcement perspective," Napolitano told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. "We believe it will detract from and siphon resources that we need to focus on those in the country illegally who are committing serious crimes in addition to violating our nation's immigration laws." The Arizona law compels state and local law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the United States illegally.

"We have concerns that at some point we'll be responsible for using our immigration resources against anyone in Arizona that would get picked up pursuant to this law," Napolitano said. Opponents of the law also believe it will lead to racial profiling and other abuses by law enforcement personnel.

Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., noted that Napolitano, when she was governor of Arizona, twice vetoed similar bills. He questioned whether it would be possible to enact comprehensive immigration reform, as the Obama administration intends, given widespread public concerns about border security.

Napolitano said the combination of improved infrastructure, technology and more "boots on the ground" at the Southwest border have contributed to significant increases in seizures of cash, drugs and weapons during the last year, along with a steep decline in the number of illegal crossings.

"The plain fact of the matter is the numbers at the border have never been better," Napolitano said. "There have been some outrageous crimes, but the overall numbers borderwide have never been better. We need to sustain those efforts, but at the same time comprehensive immigration reform should be in our sights."

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., disputed her claim. For too long, the unwritten message of the United States "was that as long as there was a willing employer and a willing worker we didn't care if people came into the country, even though it was a clear violation of law," the ranking member said.

"With regard to the comprehensive phrase, that means amnesty, legalization or regularlization, or some form or fashion of it," Sessions said. "That can't be done until the American people feel, and those of us in Congress feel, we've ended the open border and we've made the kind of progress we need [on enforcement]."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, echoed those concerns, especially if reform benefits those in the country illegally at the expense of immigrants who comply with the law.

Homeland Security officials estimate there are about 11 million people living in the country illegally. Napolitano said it is unrealistic to think they could all be apprehended and deported. Nonetheless, "I do not believe amnesty is part of the solution," she said.

Instead, the administration wants to see a mechanism whereby illegal immigrants can "get right with the law" without leapfrogging over those seeking citizenship legally, she said. "In my view what we need is a system where individuals pay a fine, provide us with their biometrics -- we want to know who they are, learn English, [demonstrate they] have paid their taxes and perhaps a sanction on top of the taxes as a fine for breaking the law," she said.

President Obama criticized the Arizona law last Friday at a naturalization ceremony at the White House, saying it undermined basic notions of fairness cherished by all Americans. But he also said the law was a symptom of failed immigration policies at the federal level.

The Arizona law is to take effect in August, 60 days after the state legislative session closes. In the meantime, the Justice Department is reviewing it to see if it meets "constitutional safeguards," Napolitano said.