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Governor Considers Declaring Border Emergency Arizona, New Mexico Issue Declaration POSTED: 1:52 pm PDT August 17, 2005 UPDATED: 2:23 pm PDT August 17, 2005 SAN DIEGO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he would consider joining his counterparts in Arizona and New Mexico in declaring a state of emergency to strengthen law enforcement along the border with Mexico."We're talking about that right now," Schwarzenegger told a local radio station. "If we see a need for that, we definitely will do the same thing."New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson issued an emergency declaration on Friday to free up $1.75 million in funding...

America is the land of opportunity, not the land of welfare, but apparently, when the lady in the harbor says bring me your tired, your poor and your huddled masses, some seem to think that there is an open door. They seem to forget that entry to this nation is by invitation only. Forgotten are those with malicious intent for the benefit of those seeking short-cuts.

Democratic hopefuls for 2008 are sensing how vulnerable President Bush is on border control. The latest sign: New Mexico's politically shrewd governor, Bill Richardson, has made a partial about-face on the issue -- at least in words -- and is throwing money and attention at his state's southern border. If he makes a national comeback from the Energy Department security scandals that all but ruined his reputation in the final years of the Clinton administration, it will owe in part to a seeming shift on border control that mirrors the one that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made in December and...

PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano may declare border counties a disaster area, following the lead of her New Mexico counterpart. Napolitano press aide Jeanine L'Ecuyer said Monday the governor's staff is exploring whether an emergency could be declared based not on a natural disaster but because of the problems of crime, human smuggling and property destruction caused by people crossing the international border. L'Ecuyer said the basic question involves reviewing the legal grounds for making such a declaration. State law permits the governor to declare an emergency in various instances, including cases of "invasions, hostile attacks, riots or insurrections.'' On...

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano declared an emergency Monday in four border counties because of problems related to illegal immigration and moved to provide local governments in those counties with up to $1.5 million in state funding. Napolitano's order said failure by the federal government to secure the border allowed a flood of illegal immigration that threatened public health and safety, "thereby necessitating immediate action by the state ... to aid its border counties.'' Napolitano's order directly released $200,000 from the state's emergency fund for disasters while her emergency council released an additional $1.3 million, spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said....

HOENIX -- Gov. Janet Napolitano chided the Bush administration for refusing to send two top officials to hearings this week on immigration reform. "It is discouraging when the Congress finally starts taking up immigration bills (Tuesday) and the administration doesn't have anybody there to testify," Napolitano said Wednesday. The governor noted that both Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao were scheduled to testify at a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the two major proposals awaiting legislative action. Both, however, cancelled their appearance. Aides to both said their bosses would testify at some future date....