Gibbons blames federal officials for immigration problems

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons on Monday blamed President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for failing to stop illegal immigration and leaving Arizona no choice but to pass its own law to prevent the flow of noncitizens across the Mexican border.

Gibbons stopped short, however, of saying he would support a similar law for Nevada.

Obama and congressional leaders are trying to make illegal immigration into a political issue to gain votes, instead of trying to curb the problem, Gibbons said in a news release. "This president and administration, including congressional leaders Senator Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are shamelessly pandering for political gain," Gibbons said. "These people should start acting like leaders and start enforcing federal laws."

Reid quickly issued a statement that the Senate is trying to pass immigration reform that is "tough on people who break the law, fair to taxpayers and practical to implement."

Republicans blocked an immigration reform bill sought by President George W. Bush, Reid said. If Gibbons is "sincere in his desire to reform our broken immigration system," then Reid said, he should encourage Republicans to work with Democrats on solutions rather than just voting no.

Arizona's approval of a tough anti-illegal immigration law last Friday has become an issue in the Nevada gubernatorial campaign.

During a Friday night debate in Reno, Republican governor candidates Mike Montandon and Brian Sandoval expressed their support for Nevada adopting a similar law, while Gibbons dodged making a direct answer.

Then at an impromptu news conference Monday, the governor again refused to answer the question, but quickly blamed Obama, Reid and the federal government for doing nothing to stop illegal immigration.

Gibbons told reporters Nevada does not share a border with Mexico or have the same level of illegal immigration problems as Arizona does. He added that the law in Arizona seems to require racial profiling, which he said is wrong.

"Arizona was forced to take action because of the lack of federal action," Gibbons said following a meeting of the Board of Examiners. "It (the federal government) has failed miserably."

He questioned the legality of profiling Hispanic people just because they might be in the country illegally.

"How do you profile a Canadian?" Gibbons asked. "A Russian? You can't profile a person simply because they are Hispanic."

Gibbons' stance on the Arizona law sets him apart from his June 8 Republican primary opponents Montandon and Sandoval. Audience members booed Gibbons slightly Friday night when he said Nevada does not have the same immigration problem as does Arizona.

In talking with reporters Monday, Gibbons acknowledged that Nevada has an illegal immigration problem, but declined to say whether he would support a state law to stop employers from hiring illegal immigrants. Making sure employers do not hire illegal immigrants is a federal responsibility, he said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in February estimated there are 260,000 illegal immigrants in Nevada, a number 53 percent higher than the 170,000 in 2000.

Educating, incarcerating and caring for noncitizens costs Nevada state government $630 million a year, according to estimates last year by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an anti-illegal immigration organization.

Most of this expense comes from U.S. Supreme Court decisions and federal laws that say illegal immigrants are entitled to attend public schools and receive health care at hospital emergency rooms.

Montandon reiterated Monday that he firmly supports adopting an Arizona-style law in Nevada.

Although racial profiling is illegal, he said police do it all the time and that it is an effective tool in combating crime.

He added that Gibbons' stance on illegal immigration might hurt his standing among conservative Republicans.

Sandoval said on Monday that racial profiling is illegal, but continued to express support for the Arizona law.

"The federal government has failed miserably at its responsibility to secure our borders," he said in a statement. "States like Arizona are now forced to deal with the results of that failure.

"That said, I do understand the Hispanic community's concerns about this law and believe Arizona officials must pay close attention to the implementation of the new law."

Democratic candidate Rory Reid called the Arizona law a "wrong-headed approach" taken because of the absence of federal immigration reform.

"On its face, this ill-conceived law opens the door to racial profiling and the violation of the fundamental civil rights of all Americans," he said. "You can't determine whether someone is undocumented simply by the way they look, dress or speak."

The Arizona law has been widely denounced by Democrats who consider it racist and unjust.

A section in the law requires law enforcement officers to determine whether a person is an illegal immigrant "if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S."

In the news release, Gibbons said the Obama administration is out of touch with society today.

"Clearly the immigration system in this country is broken and is costing taxpayers billions of dollars," he added, "The Obama administration must wake up and fix our immigration problems at the border."

The governor said immigration laws in the United States must be modernized to reflect advancements in technology, such as facial recognition technology and biometric ID cards.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.