Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

The Republic | azcentral.com

Gov. Jan Brewer is using the federal government's shipments of undocumented migrants to Arizona to fatten her federal political action committee, Jan PAC.

In a message to supporters titled "Abandoned in Arizona," Brewer says President Barack Obama can ignore her pleas to address the issue, but "he cannot ignore the unified demands of the citizens of this country." She asks supporters to help "bring respect and security" back by signing a petition to end "his appalling practice."

"If we continue to let ourselves be walked over, Arizona will become the battleground it is starting to resemble," the message said. "We must seize the opportunity now and start fighting if we want to redeem our state before it's too late."

In a post script to the message, Brewer asks supporters to fund her efforts against the federal government: "It only takes 2 minutes to make a donation to a fight that is worth every penny."

A link directs donors to her action committee's website.

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Public relations consultant Matthew Benson, Brewer's former spokesman, said the fundraising effort "makes sense."

"If you're Gov. Brewer and you've made your name on the immigration issue, it makes all the sense in the world to raise the red flag about what's going on along our southern border and to raise money for like-minded candidates," Benson said. "There are some issues where you want to be careful about fundraising off of -- it can look a little craven. But with what's going on along Arizona's border and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas ... this is happening here, these individuals and all of these kids are being sent to Arizona and it's something people in Arizona care deeply about and it makes all the sense in the world for Gov. Brewer to lead on this."

Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, who has informally advised Brewer on various issues, disagreed. While it's clear federal officials "are bungling this and many things," he said, the surge of immigrants and unaccompanied minors has created a "shocking humanitarian crisis" that must be addressed.

"I would hope that the first reaction of our leaders would be, 'How can I help? What can we do to help these scared and defenseless children that have found their way to our state?'" he said. "Instead, to have people trying to raise money on the crisis is just the same old politics. The first reaction of our state's leaders in a humanitarian crisis should be to solve problems and to help children. Instead, the first second and third (reaction seems to be, 'How can I get a political advantage out of this?'"

Added Woods, "Anyone who would respond to a fundraising plea based on the plight of these children ought to examine themselves as well."

Over Memorial Day weekend, the Department of Homeland Security began transporting hundreds of undocumented immigrants from southern Texas to Arizona and released them at Greyhound bus stations in Tucson and Phoenix. Last week, the federal government began sending hundreds of unaccompanied children caught crossing the border illegally in Texas to a holding center in Nogales, Ariz.

In a letter last week to Obama, Brewer expressed deep concern over the shipments and she and her office have talked with federal officials about the situation.

She asked the Obama administration to provide information on the "unconscionable policy," including who authorized the migrant shipments and when, why Arizona is the "target," and how many immigrants have been transported from other states and released in Arizona.