Dennis Would Support Arizona-Type Law

At a Tea Party sponsored gubernatorial debate in Flowood over the weekend, Dave Dennis said he would support legislation mirrored after Arizona’s law targeting illegal immigrants. In the Clarion-Ledger, Dennis was quoted as saying, “Whatever needs to be done (for immigration reform), I’m comfortable with it.”

The reason I mentioned this is because Dennis has taken heat from groups like MFIRE (which have endorsed Phil Bryant) for previous verbal positions on the issue. He had never said he didn’t support enforcement issues, or that he didn’t support the Arizona-type legislation even, but I liked to say that he sounded more like Haley Barbour than Phil Bryant here.

Here is the full interview that Dennis did with the Jackson Free Press where he made such comments. A sample: “From an immigration point of view, that is clearly a federal issue. I went out and talked to Gov. Brewer in Arizona not quite two years ago about it, and it’s a different issue in our state than it is for (other) states. We’re not a border state. They’ve got other issues.”

When asked what he thought about pending legislation, he said, “I’m not going to give a broad, blanket comment, and that’s on any issue, until I see the final legislation.”

This caused a rebuke from MFIRE:

“The comments by Dave Dennis illustrate why MFIRE endorsed Phil Bryant for governor. Phil Bryant has proven that he supports our state’s efforts to protect its citizens from the harmful effects of illegal immigration. It does not appear that Mr. Dennis fully appreciates the depth of the problem of illegal immigration in Mississippi and its effects on our citizens, especially our unemployment rates and taxpayer burdens. The reason that Arizona style illegal immigration legislation has been introduced in over twenty state legislatures this year to control illegal immigration is because of the federal government’s failure to enforce laws against illegal immigration.”

Read their entire presser from late March here.