Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) went beyond condolences in reacting to the death of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie and criticized the administration of President Barack Obama Tuesday.
"Arizonans and Americans will grieve, and they should," said Brewer in a statement. "But this ought not only be a day of tears. There should be anger, too. Righteous anger -- at the kind of evil that causes sorrow this deep, and at the federal failure and political stalemate that has left our border unsecured and our Border Patrol in harm’s way. Four fallen agents in less than two years is the result."
She closed, "It has been 558 days since the Obama administration declared the security of the U.S.-Mexico border ‘better now than it has ever been.’ I’ll remember that statement today."
Elected officials such as Attorney General Tom Horne and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) simply offered their condolences.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, (D-Ariz.), encouraged "everyone to refrain from exploiting today’s tragedy for their own purposes," in a statement.
Early Tuesday, Ivie was killed in a gunfight in Southeastern Arizona, in a remote area known to be a drug-smuggling corridor.
McCain, speaking on a local radio show, said he was "sorry if there is politicization." But added, "I can tell you that our former governor [now DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano] politicizes it by blaming Republicans all the time for a variety of things."
Brewer's office did not immediately return a message for further comment.
Here's her statement, in full:
"Arizona has lost another Border Patrol agent.
"In the dark hours before daybreak, one agent was killed and another injured while on-duty along Arizona’s southern border. It is believed they were responding to an alerted ground sensor in a remote area near Bisbee, a short distance north of the border. In a tragic coincidence, these agents were assigned to Brian Terry Station – newly-dedicated and named for a U.S. Border Patrol agent murdered under similar circumstances in Arizona less than two years ago.
"More recently, in May 2011, we lost two more agents -- Eduardo Rojas, Jr. and Hector Clark -- when they were killed in a vehicle accident while pursuing suspected drug smugglers near Gila Bend.
"What happens next has become all-too-familiar in Arizona. Flags will be lowered in honor of the slain agent. Elected officials will vow to find those responsible. Arizonans and Americans will grieve, and they should. But this ought not only be a day of tears. There should be anger, too. Righteous anger -- at the kind of evil that causes sorrow this deep, and at the federal failure and political stalemate that has left our border unsecured and our Border Patrol in harm’s way. Four fallen agents in less than two years is the result.
"It has been 558 days since the Obama administration declared the security of the U.S.-Mexico border ‘better now than it has ever been.’ I’ll remember that statement today.”
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