Sarah Palin Takes Stand on Immigration

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2010 -- Sarah Palin had been heretofore fairly silent on the issue of immigration. This week for the first time, however, she has been outspoken, making at least five recent public statements on the issue and coming out in full support of Arizona's controversial new immigration law.

She even encouraged other states to adopt similar laws.

"I think every other state on the border should emulate what Arizona has done," she said on FOX News Wednesday night. "Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, has taken upon herself, her state government, to do what the feds should have been doing all along and say, 'No, we're going to secure this border.'

"From there, then, once that is taken care of, we can deal with those who are here illegally and we can figure out all that immigration reform that needs to take place. Yes, other states should do what Arizona is doing," she said.

She posted on her Facebook page Tuesday about immigration for the second time in a week.

"Arizonans have the courage to do what the Obama administration has failed to do in its first year and a half in office, namely secure our border and enforce our federal laws," she wrote. "And as a result, Arizonans have been subjected to a campaign of baseless accusations by the same people who freely admit they haven't a clue about what they're actually campaigning against."

A Palin spokesperson declined to comment for this story.

The former Alaska governor sparked controversy Saturday with her comments at a campaign event for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

"Now this state has enacted a law -- it mirrors the federal law -- which allows police to ask those they otherwise have stopped to provide a driver's license or other verification of legal presence. I think for most American people the reaction to this would be, 'Why haven't the police already been doing that?'" Palin asked the crowd.

She encouraged the Highland Park High School girls basketball team the week before to "go rogue" after school administrators canceled its participation in an Arizona tournament, citing safety concerns and the state's new immigration law.

She later posted on Facebook: "These boycotts of Arizona will not help the state or lead to positive change. Economic and political boycotts of our nation's 48th state will hurt all Arizonans, including all members of the Hispanic community."

Palin's back-to-back flurry of comments marked her public entry into an issue that had not previously been a prominent part of her conservative mix of issues, which included energy, fiscal conservatism and small government.

"She had actually been fairly positive about immigration reform as a vice presidential candidate," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voices, a liberal-leaning immigration reform group that immediately criticized Palin.

"When she decided to embrace the Arizona show-me-your-papers law, we thought it justified criticizing her for embracing a law that institutionalized racial and ethnic discrimination," Sharry said.