Schumer challenges Gov. Brewer to defend Arizona immigration law

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday invited Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to testify before his committee in April on Arizona's controversial immigration law.

In a Feb. 23 letter to Brewer, Schumer said the Senate approved a bill in 2010 that helped the federal government provide for more border agents, and said that law has led to "dramatic results at the border." Schumer said the additional border agents have helped catch more illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, and challenged Brewer to explain why the state law was needed.

"Given the new level of security at our Southern Border as result of the August 2010 law, it would be extremely beneficial for the Committee to hear from you with regard to: 1) why you signed SB 1070 in 2010; 2) whether you still believe SB 1070 is necessary in light of the substantially increased security situation along our southern border; and 3) whether you favor SB 1070 being made a permanent law irrespective of whether conditions further improve along the southern border," Schumer wrote in his letter.

"As you frequently ask the President to visit the southern border to discuss border security, we expect that you will be eager to engage in a productive dialogue with the Congressional Committee responsible for acting upon any border security recommendations you provide," he added.

The state law, SB 1070, was signed into law by Brewer in April 2010, months before Congress passed the law to which Schumer referred in his letter. The state law makes it a crime for illegal immigrants to be in Arizona without carrying papers showing they have registered with the federal government.

The law also requires local law enforcement officers to try to determine the residency status of people if they are stopped for other reasons. That requirement led to charges that the law would lead to racial profiling.

It has also led to legal challenges against the law. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the implementation of parts of the law, and the Supreme Court will hear the case later this year.

Schumer invited Brewer to testify at a hearing in the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, which he chairs, on April 24.

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