Lindsey Graham Claims Obama Administration Will 'Crash And Burn' With Immigration Strategy

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed outright pessimism about the future of immigration reform during a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, saying that the Obama administration would "crash and burn" if it acted on plans to get legislation through Congress before the November elections.

"I would bet you everything I own that the 2007 [immigration] bill wouldn't pass this year," Graham told Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Tuesday, according to The Hill.

"If immigration comes up this year, it will be absolutely devastating to this issue," Graham continued, adding that "[m]ost Americans think we will have lost our minds if we move forward without securing our border first."

Graham, who ground progress on a potential climate bill to a halt over the weekend after he learned of the White House's potential plans to fast-track immigration legislation, said that immigration reform might be addressed "by 2012 if we're smart and address the big elephant in the room -- the borders are not secure and there's a [drug] war going on," according to The Hill.

Napolitano, however, found the proposed completion date unacceptable.

"Congress needs to take up comprehensive immigration reform," the former Arizona governor said.

"I say this again, as someone who has walked that border, ridden it, flown it and driven it," she continued. "I believe it is as secure as it ever has been."