Obama not showing 'political courage' on immigration, Rep. Gutierrez says

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said President Barack Obama has yet to show the "political courage" needed to institute lasting immigration reforms.

"Does the president have the will? He hasn't demonstrated [it] this week. What he has done is respond easily by sending 1,200 troops," said Gutierrez on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, referring to Obama's decision last week to beef up Border Patrol efforts at the Mexican border with the National Guard.

Gutierrez called the increase in troops "a good beginning," but he noted that the move is already being rejected by those who want a harder line against illegal immigration.

"I think the president has to understand that simple political sound bites is not what the American people want," Gutierrez said. "They want practical solutions. He knows what the solution is on this issue. He needs to demonstrate the political will, the political courage to take this on."

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.), who wants current immigration laws to be enforced and opposes amnesty giving illegal immigrants a way to obtain citizenship, said that 1,200 more troops at the border would be "woefully inadequate."

"This is cosmetic, this is ineffective, because 1,200 across four states [at the border] is 300 troops per state," Hayworth said.

Hayworth is running in a GOP Senate primary in Arizona against Sen. John McCain, where immigration has become a key issue.

Hayworth has attacked McCain for once leading bipartisan efforts for a comprehensive immigration reform bill. McCain has said during the campaign that he backs more border security by completing a border fence and 6,000 more troops.

Both Hayworth and McCain have backed their state's new law requiring people to carry immigration papers at all times and giving local police the power to question and detain those they suspect to be in the country illegally. President Barack Obama has criticized the law as a "shortcut" that won't solve the problem, and the Justice Department is considering a challenge to the law.

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