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PHOENIX  - If you're running for president, how do you
convince supporters you are tough enough on immigration? Get the
endorsement of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the
self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America whose uncompromising
stand on illegal immigration is a point of pride.


      On Wednesday Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was the latest
Republican presidential candidate hoping for Arpaio's backing. She
met in Phoenix with the Republican sheriff, whose endorsement is
frequently sought by candidates in all types of races across the
country.


      Arpaio said he hasn't yet decided which candidate he will back
in the GOP primary race.


      Bachmann, who was in Arizona for campaign fundraisers, focused
almost entirely on immigration during the three minutes she talked
to reporters. She then went into a private meeting with Arpaio.


      "As president of the United States, I want to solve the border
issue," Bachmann said, noting that the nation's immigration
problems extend beyond the southern border states. "I want to
build the fence that needs to be built and I want to solve this
problem."


      She said she would also eliminate inducements for illegal
immigration into the U.S.


      Bachmann wouldn't say whether she supports Arizona's tough
immigration enforcement law. A federal judge put the most
controversial elements of the law on hold after the Justice
Department filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate it.


      "I know that as president of the United States, I would not be
suing the state of Arizona," Bachmann said. "I would be
fulfilling the commitment that the federal government needs to
fulfill, and that is to secure our borders."


      Arpaio's campaign manager, Chad Willems, said Bachmann has
called the sheriff several times, but she isn't the only
presidential hopeful to do so. Mitt Romney and Rick Perry have made
calls of their own.


      "They're all calling him," Willems said, adding that Arpaio
will take his time to decide on an endorsement. "They're all in a
hurry, of course."


      In the 2008 primary race. the sheriff endorsed Romney over
home-state candidate John McCain. Romney came in second, behind
McCain, who won the state's 2008 primary.


      Arpaio, a proven favorite of voters in the county that includes
Phoenix, is well-known for his office's crackdown on illegal
immigration, which has included conducting numerous raids on
workplaces.


      However, unrelated, failed investigations targeting county
officials and judges were conducted by Arpaio's office and are now
under scrutiny for ethics violations.


      Bachmann wasn't the only candidate talking immigration with
Arizona voters. In Tucson on Wednesday, a crowd of business owners
frustrated by the red tape required to bring in highly educated
workers asked Bachmann's rival, Mitt Romney, how he would approach
legal immigration.


      Romney said he would give first priority to foreign workers with
graduate degrees. "I want people coming into the country with
skills and experience, speaking English, with degrees and
contributing to our culture and the capacity of our nation,"
Romney said, adding that legal immigrants often start their own
businesses.


      He said he doesn't want the uneducated or unskilled coming
across the border or overstaying their visas, expecting the United
States to provide them with education and health care. Later,
though, he noted that people from other countries come to the
United States looking for opportunities for their families. "They
don't come here for handouts," he said.


      Later Wednesday Romney told an audience in Sun Lakes, Ariz.,
that he'd build a border fence and impose heavy sanctions on
employers who hire illegal immigrants.


      "Let's protect legal immigration and make it work for America
and the families that come here legally," he told an audience in
Sun Lakes, Ariz.


      "I will stop illegal immigration," Romney promised, adding
later, "It's time to do it."


--- Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Sun Lakes, Ariz.,
contributed to this report.

Gallery

Politics and Government News

Michele Bachmann and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizna met today as she and other Republican presidential candidates court the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America for an endorsement.

Bachmann courts Ariz.'s tough Sheriff Arpaio

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