Governors denounce Chaffetz's 'tent cities' idea

PROVO — Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson have distanced themselves from Jason Chaffetz's claim that his idea to detain illegal immigrants in tent cities surrounded by barbed-wire fences came from the Western Governors' Association.

Chaffetz, the Republican nominee for Utah's 3rd District seat in the U.S. House, only regrets using the word "tent."

Chaffetz has been under fire lately for his position that illegal immigrants who have committed crimes should be held in tent cities surrounded by barbed-wire fences. His immigration policy also would detain undocumented immigrants in those facilities if they don't return to their countries of origin.

Chaffetz tied his idea to a proposal by the WGA, which includes Huntsman, who is his former boss, and Richardson.

"What did (Sheriff) Joe Arpaio do in Maricopa County (Arizona)?" Chaffetz said at the state Republican convention. "He put up tents. He put barbed wire around them. Now this isn't some wild Jason Chaffetz plan, this is a concurrent resolution — a joint resolution — between Republican and Democratic governors."

Huntsman, who has endorsed Chaffetz, recently told radio journalist Doug Fabrizio that Chaffetz's suggestion of a tent city was "extreme" and different from the WGA proposal.

"I heard somebody reference the Western Governors' model," Huntsman said on the live broadcast. "I was involved with drafting that with (Arizona Gov.) Janet Napolitano. We talked about a regional correctional facility to handle some of the overload that the states can't handle. Nobody talked about tent cities with barbed-wire fences around (them)."

Richardson, a Democrat, went further.

"Mr. Chaffetz's immigration proposal is offensive and inhumane and should be rejected out of hand," Richardson said. "His statements do nothing more than add more of the same divisive political rhetoric that incites confrontation and does not solve the problem, and is not what the Western Governors' Association supports."

Chaffetz said Thursday his idea is simply a cheaper alternative to the WGA's call for federal correctional facilities in the West.

"We agree on the need and the function if not the form," Chaffetz said. "I recognize the word 'tent' is sensational."