Ariz. Governor Says Most Illegal Immigrants are Drug Smugglers

Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer said that most illegal immigrants are “drug mules,” but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) distanced himself from Brewer’s remarks on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Fox News reported June 27.

McCain said that Brewer was “standing up for Arizona” and that the state deserves “a better environment of security than they’re getting from the federal government,” but stopped short of endorsing her view that the majority of Mexicans crossing the border were involved in drug smuggling.

When asked for evidence to back up her assertion, Brewer cited an L.A. Times report from 2009 indicating that drug cartels had taken increasing control of human smuggling, adding that “many federal government reports” support her conclusions.

The governor sparked controversy earlier this year when she signed a law making illegal immigration a state crime.