WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Monday
defended his statement over the weekend that illegal immigrants were
responsible for some Arizona wildfires, citing congressional testimony
and published reports to back his claim.
Speaking from his home state Saturday, McCain said
there was “substantial evidence that some of these fires have been
caused by people who have crossed our border illegally.” He didn’t
specify what evidence, however.
The comment drew criticism, including from an
unsuccessful candidate in Arizona’s Democratic Senate primary in 2010,
who accused McCain of fanning “the flames of intolerance.”
Speaking on the “Imus in the Morning” show Monday, McCain stood by his statement.
“I was briefed by the Forest Service about the fact
that illegal immigrants sometimes start these fires,” he said. And there
has been testimony by service officials that “large numbers of warming
and cooking fires built and abandoned by cross-border violators have
caused wildfires that have destroyed cultural and natural resources.”
He also cited a Los Angeles Times report backing his claim, though it was unclear which story he was referring to.
Imus challenged McCain, though, saying the reports
don’t prove illegal immigrants were responsible for the so-called Wallow
blaze raging through eastern parts of the state.
McCain said he never was referring to the specific fire in his remarks.
“I’m surprised that anyone should be surprised that people have been doing this for some period of time,” McCain said.
The Wallow fire is burning far north of the U.S.-Mexico border, though there are others nearer, according to InciWeb.
Through Sunday evening the Wallow fire spanned more than 519,000 acres, spilling across into New Mexico.
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