Brewer ‘thrilled’ with Sessions and his immigration stance
Apr 12, 2017, 5:26 PM | Updated: Apr 14, 2017, 12:48 pm
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — U.S. Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions visited the Arizona-Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona, on Tuesday, where he outlined changes to come on how Amercia handles immigration.
Former Arizona governor Jan Brewer joined Mac & Gaydos on Wednesday and said she was “thrilled” by what she heard from the AG.
“He is going to crack down on illegal immigration and that’s what we’ve all been crying for — for the last what, 10 years? Do something about our borders,” Brewer said. “I mean we have 362 miles of open borders that everybody in the world — the drug cartels and the sex traffickers — are coming through like it was an open invitation.
“It’s the federal government’s job to keep us safe, and they’re going to do it, so I say woo-hoo for Jeff Sessions.”
Sessions said during his Nogales visit that he was going to issue a document that mandates prioritization of arresting those who harbor illegal immigrants, and those who attempt to re-enter the country illegally will land a felony charge instead of a misdemeanor.
Brewer said that one point of emphasis with the soon to be felony charge is that there is a lot of catch and release going on, where illegal immigrants aren’t learning a lesson and continue to enter America illegally regardless if they’ve ever been caught before.
“With President Obama’s (attorney generals), it was basically, ‘Seriously?’ They weren’t serious about anything,” Brewer said. “They wouldn’t even answer our letters. They wouldn’t even address our concerns. They wouldn’t even talk about it, they just wanted to blow us off. And finally the people of America, the people of Arizona, got attention.”
When Sessions visited Litchfield Park west of Phoenix on Tuesday, he expressed concern that crime is rising, saying, “I’m getting worried we’re not locking more people up.”
Brewer believes he is a man of his word.
“I’m sure they’ll be arresting a lot more people, they won’t catch and release and he’s also going to put in 125 more immigration judges in the next few years,” Brewer said. “And I think the congress is going to up the ante and spend it and spend [on] the border security and [on] the wall and just keep us safe. I am thrilled.”