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Mar 2, 2011

Gov. Brewer, will you join Arizona Democrats in standing up to GOP cuts to border security?

House Republicans' budget plan would slash $600 million from DHS

PHOENIX -- Gov. Brewer's relentless campaign-trail calls for border security have gone strangely silent in 2011, now that congressional Republican leaders are trying to slash $600 million from border security and immigration enforcement.

The Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives have passed a spending bill that could devastate the efforts of border patrol and law enforcement to stop the criminal smuggling rings. [The Arizona Republic, 2/24/11].Their proposed $600 million cut is nearly a billion dollars off from the Obama administration's proposed $300 million increase.

The Republican plan cuts funding for 250 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and threatens future funding for nearly 900 Border Patrol agents.

At a press conference earlier this month, Arizona Democratic Party leaders joined with a border mayor, a county sheriff and a county attorney to warn of the consequences of these cuts and to call for them to be stopped. No similar calls were heard, however, from Arizona Republicans like Brewer, Attorney General Tom Horne, Treasurer Douglas Ducey or Secretary of State Ken Bennett, all of whom used tough rhetoric on border security during their campaigns. Yet right now is the very time they should be standing up for Arizona in securing our border.

"Why aren't Brewer, Horne, Ducey and Bennett joining us to call on Republicans in Congress to increase, not slash, border security?" said Andrei Cherny, Arizona Democratic Party chairman. "They used sound bites to boost their campaigns. Now they need to put politics aside and offer some real leadership."

Even Republican Sen. Jon Kyl has spoken out against the House GOP cuts, telling POLITICO on Tuesday that they "would do damage."

It has been 18 days since the Republican cuts were announced, but there hasn't been a word of criticism from Gov. Brewer or the other GOP state leaders. So now is the time to say that Democrats are right to increase border security funding while Republicans are wrong to push for these massive cuts.

"Governor, tell us where you stand on the GOP cuts to border security," Cherny said. "More importantly, tell the Republicans in Congress where you stand."