Arizona Governor Jan Brewer believes the immigration reform debate underway in Washington right now is the result of her signing SB 1070 three years ago.
While some key parts of the bill have never taken effect, and some were declared illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court, Brewer notes the state has been allowed to enforce a section requiring police to question those they stop for other offenses, about their immigration status.
And she tells Capitol Media Services the state law set the stage for the bipartisan congressional proposal on immigration reform.
"Absolutely, I think that it was the emphasis that created the awareness of what we are facing in Arizona and the effects it's having throughout the country," Brewer said.
But the governor, in her first comments on the federal legislation, says she remains skeptical the "Gang of Eight's" bill will produce the solution the country needs.
Brewer notes the measure calls for up to 3,500 more Border Patrol agents, new monitoring technology on the border, and deployment of the National Guard to help out, but wants to know where that's going to go, and when.