Jan Brewer On Arizona Immigration Law: 'We Are Not Racist, We Are Not Bigoted' (VIDEO)

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Tuesday and defended her state and its strict immigration law from ongoing criticism that the legislation was motivated by prejudice.

Brewer, whose memoir, Scorpions For Breakfast, was released on Tuesday, began by claiming that Arizona's law, SB 1070, had been drafted to make sure it "would not infringe upon anybody's civil rights." Brewer has asked the Supreme Court to hear a case regarding the constitutionality of the law, and she said Tuesday that she believed the justices would rule in her favor.

Brewer later continued, defending the reasons for pushing the controversial legislation:

We are not racist, we are not bigoted, but we know that "the liberal media" generally wants to shove that race card out there, they wanna throw it around very, very loosely to shut down the debate. We have a severe problem, and I believe that 70 percent of people in America, they understand that and they agree with us in Arizona. Every poll will tell you -- they agree with what we're doing.

Asked by host Joe Scarborough about which specific polls showed those results, Brewer admitted that she couldn't name anything off the top of her head. Mediaite points out that nationwide support may have been displayed in some polls conducted around the time of SB 1070's passage, but that Brewer ignores some polling that showed deep dissatisfaction among Latinos.

Brewer's rhetoric on Tuesday was similar to what readers can expect to find in her book, the Associated Press reports. In it, she defends the law as "a fair, effective and necessary response to what she said amounts to Washington turning a blind eye on border security," according to the AP.

On Fox News Monday night, Brewer said that action movie star Chuck Norris, an outspoken supporter of the Arizona governor and the immigration law, had come up with the memoir's title.

Comments

[fedul7]

01:35 AM on 12/13/2011

I absolutely LOVE this woman & Sheriff Joe is great to. I lived in Mesa & worked in Scottsdale for several years. The Mexicans were out of control, robberys, assaults, CAR & home breakins, drugs & the slums that they made. Not counting the 100's of millions that they illegally get while they are here & ship to hispanic comunitys around the world & our businesses are collapsing because of it. Aol made this statement several monthe back, Over 25% of all babys in this country being born here are hispanic, they are spreading the aids virus faster than any race in this country & as 2010 we are a minority in our own country, there are more hispanics in this country than any other race, what does that do to a major election in this country in the near future? Some years ago Nikita Kruschev, the former Russian premier once said that we would fall w/o firing a shot, guess what ???

[DestinyKid]

01:51 PM on 12/12/2011

If you have to keep clarifying that you are bigots/racists - they maybe you need to take a second look at your policies - They definitely appear to be for the racists and bigots.

[hawaiianstile]

07:12 PM on 11/22/2011

unless your native american your a racist for bitching. thats the simple fact of the mater.

[DeeBlackthorne]

08:49 PM on 11/11/2011

You know it's a bad sign when you have to say "we're not racist" and throw finger air quotes up talking about "the liberal media" and some 70% of people like what we're doing. Uh-huh. The number isn't even that high here IN the state, let alone outside, Ms. Brewer.

[happyblackman]

08:59 AM on 11/09/2011

This lady is just plain dense!

[charly32]

01:48 PM on 11/06/2011

I love this woman. God Bless Jan Brewer and the State of Arizona!!!

[hawaiianstile]

07:08 PM on 11/22/2011

your late for your clan meeting

[hplhenry]

10:17 AM on 11/06/2011

'Brewer ignores some polling that showed deep dissatisfaction among Latinos.' Did they verify the Latinos polled were here legally?

[PopsinAZ]

04:15 PM on 11/14/2011

What polling, hpih? The majority of LEGAL Latinos favor SB1070. "Deep dissatisfaction" seems to be mostly among leftists. Of course, asking the Federal Government to enforce U. S. Laws depends on which laws are generally supported or popular with the administration or with Democrats.

[DestinyKid]

01:52 PM on 12/12/2011

Is the condition for being a legal Latino - that you need to agree with the arizona governor? Well if that is the case - yes I am sure they agree.

[ramman]

05:03 PM on 11/03/2011

'We Are Not Racist, We Are Not Bigoted' Jan YOU LIE! This whole immigration situation could have easily been handled decently and in order but your party chose to make it a pitiful mess. Also I can't help to notice how in this immigration quagmire your state and others have built new prisons extremely quickly so you can make money off illegal immigrants. It's been shown on CNBC on the documentary titled Billions Behind Bars and it exposes the truth of the new money making machine which is the illegal immigrant imprisonment business.

[BCS]

11:40 PM on 11/03/2011

The Democrat plan does not include border enforcement- only amnesty.

And that is a taxpayer draining business.

I wonder when the taxpayer- who makes all government services possible- will finally be respected enough to have the bureaucrats and politicians stop wasting their hard-earned money?

[Picosa]

08:56 PM on 11/04/2011

Opinion, or FACT with a link to a study that proves what you say can hold water.

[PopsinAZ]

04:21 PM on 11/14/2011

It will NOT happen, BCS. Political parties, elected officials (politicians) have almost NO RESPECT for taxpayers.
It is impossible for the issue of immigration to be addressed or solved as long as we do not completely secure our borders and have verifiable ID for every man, woman and child in this country!

[hplhenry]

10:16 AM on 11/06/2011

So do we continue allowing people to enter our country illegally without consequence? Love to here your ideas on orderly and decently fixing this pitiful mess. I live in a border state. I know many people who have been put out of work due to the immigration problem.

[Venturahwy101]

11:20 PM on 11/08/2011

it's unfortunate for your friends who have been put out of work, but I have yet to see a legal US citizen working in the fields as a laborer.If you end the opportunities for illegals, they won't come. As long as there are jobs for illegals here they will come. Mitt Romney knows all too well.

[happyblackman]

09:01 AM on 11/09/2011

Put out of what jobs though? Also, shouldn't the emplyer who fired and American and hired an illegal alien be at fault also? I would happily boycott any emplyer who lays off American workers, only to replace them with illegals.

[llwlknsn]

09:24 AM on 11/03/2011

The United States and HER PEOPLE, have every right to decide who they want in their country based on Sovereignty. If you are breaking the law, get out. THAT's the driving force, not racism. I don't care if you are an illegal Swede or Russian, or you skipped on over from Ireland, If you aren't here with permission, you need to get out or be deported.

[Picosa]

09:04 PM on 11/04/2011

When the U.S. government and U.S. corporations leave the countries below their southern borders, their people will leave the U.S.


The Story of 500 Years of Global Greed and Misery

......"for us in the North to maintain this lifestyle, we have to plunge more people below the poverty line in the South." But if the South had cartels to raise the prices of their minerals and agricultur­al products, the economy of the North would collapse.

..... poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies -- in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries such that today 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate.

Only 5% of the worlds population live in the United states, yet we consume over 25% of the worlds natural resources.
http://www.alternet.org/story/144129/the_story_of_500_years_of_global_greed_and_misery/?page=1

[Llavero]

07:07 PM on 11/02/2011

Agreed. Enforcing immigration laws is not in itself racist. One thing that is racist, though, is a conservative push for a more powerful and intrusive government that begins with the targeting of those who look Hispanic/Latino.Another thing that is racist is that while there is a push for having potential immigrants abide by the law (nothing wrong with that), nothing, absolutely nothing is done or even said against another group of law-breakers, the employers who employ the illegal immigrants. Abolish the double-standards, the loopholes, the 'looking the other way', and the scapegoating, and you can convincingly make the claim that you are not racist.

[ugly american]

07:56 PM on 11/02/2011

If you actually take the time to read the 17 pages of SB1070 you might find that a large part of it deals with sanctions on employers who hire unregistered foreign nationals.
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf
It deals with sanctuary policies and businesses quite harshly. But in the rush to vilify the law, advocacy groups glossed over those parts.
Start reading on page 6 if you want to see about penalties for employers.
It does abolish the double standards and loopholes and everything else. Losing a business licence for violating the law is no joking matter.

[Llavero]

10:59 PM on 11/02/2011

Thanks for the link! I stand corrected, sort of. Yes, there are indeed sanctions in the law against law-breaking employers, but they are not enough. In the case of 'suspect Hispanic/Latinos', the police are too powerful because they are free to stop, harass, arrest, deprive of liberty, and confiscate the property (automobiles) of suspects at any time. On the other hand, according to the law, action is taken against law-breaking employers ONLY IF a complaint is registered with the Attorney General's office, and then only if and when the complaint is investigated. Under this particular law, law enforcement is not allowed to take any kind of initiative like it does against individuals. And after a lengthy process in which the employers can defend themselves and appeal, the worst that can happen is that a business loses its license, which can be remedied by dissolving the affected business and forming a new one. Penalties against LAW-BREAKING employers need to be a lot harsher than that. Sorry, but I see a double standard and a loophole here.

[DestinyKid]

02:00 PM on 12/12/2011

I frown on anything that read 'if you suspect a person of being an illegal alien'. That phrase itself leaves itself into a million interpretations. What does someone have to do to be suspect - you'll be surprised at how many people would say 'being brown' or 'speaking spanish' as being suspect.

[llwlknsn]

09:26 AM on 11/03/2011

And yet when the illegal employers of illegal labor are taken to class, the SAME groups that support open boarders and rampant illegal immigration are those screaming the loudest about....wait for it....racism because most of the employers of illegals are either illegals themselves (via the Underground economy) or are of some other color other than pale. Go figure. Specious argument for a BULL**** situation.

[Llavero]

02:04 PM on 11/04/2011

"...most of the employers of illegals are either illegals themselves (via the Undergroun­d economy) or are of some other color other than pale."
Is that right? Would you care to provide data that supports your statement?

[livingbettertherapy]

05:55 PM on 11/02/2011

Whether she is a racist is up for debate but she is definitely not an economist. Most of the people who have been deported are not gangsters or drug dealers. Many of them were hardworking people who bought American products. Connect the dots. How does deporting a laborer who might have bought a GM vehicle affect the U.S. economy?

[llwlknsn]

09:30 AM on 11/03/2011

And that illegal laborer on Welfare? The plugging the drain on social services will more than offset the loss of profit on that brand new shiney GM vehicle that they claim is on loan from a family member in order to qualify for food stamps, housing assistance and other social safety net services because they dropped an anchor baby. Try seeing the Big picture.

[EmmaLib]

11:38 AM on 11/03/2011

If you are not an American, or a legal citizen, you can not get welfare. You do realize, to receive welfare one has to have a social security number and other identification, as proof of citizenship.

[Mark Lindley]

12:47 PM on 11/03/2011

Since when do we need illegal aliens to keep our economy afloat? These so-called hard working people are taking jobs from Americans who need them. If an Americans were working instead of being unemployed wouldn't they in turn being buying American products and paying taxes also?

[Picosa]

09:35 PM on 11/04/2011

According to FACTS you're wrong again Chicagonut.

Immigration Doesn't Hurt Native-Born Workers
by Daniel Griswold

Daniel Griswold is director of the Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies. He has written widely and testified before Congress on U.S. trade and immigration policy.

Recent hearings in the Republican-controlled House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration focused on enforcement, but the underlying message was that immigrants are taking jobs that rightfully belong to American workers.

The implication was clear: If we can reduce illegal immigration, it will mean more jobs and higher wages for native-born workers, especially the poor and minorities.

That message may play well politically, but it does not reflect the reality of America's dynamic labor market. There is simply no evidence that immigration drives up the U.S. unemployment rate or that it drives down wages for American workers. read more
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12863

[Absolute]

05:18 PM on 11/02/2011

"The liberal media" she claims as she sits and is interviewed on corporate controlled cable tv. She is a bigot and she's dishonest.

[MA2AW]

03:51 PM on 11/02/2011

We are not racist. We just want the Government to do it's job and enforce the immigration laws to prevent criminals, gangs, and other degenertives from just walking across the border and doing or taking the advantages that we as American citizens have. We don't need you and we don't want to take care of you if you break the law. By crossing over illegally, that is breaking the law and we don't want you here. If you take offense, you can leave too.

[cjsim]

02:58 PM on 11/02/2011

Oh really? Prove it!!!! cjsim

[Mark Lindley]

11:16 AM on 11/04/2011

Those who accuse others of racism are asking them to prove they are not? lol. Isn't it up to the accuser to prove their guilt rather than the charged to have to prove their innocence? That's the way it works in our criminal justice system anyway.

I'd like the ethnocentrics who advocate for illegal aliens to prove to me that their views aren't based on ethnic ties and racism then.

[Picosa]

10:16 PM on 11/04/2011

It's very simple to prove anyone who supports these racist AZ copycat laws is himself a racist. Chicagonut If it looks like a duck... ties to white nationalists, yieks!

Rachel Maddow Exposes Racist Origins of SB1070
http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/04/rachel_maddow_exposes_racist_origins_of_sb1070.html

[MosesDidItBest]

02:32 PM on 11/02/2011

Is this like the nonexistant beheaded people no one actually found in the desert, you know, another lie?

Of course it is.

[llwlknsn]

09:30 AM on 11/03/2011

have you looked?