Watch CBS News

Dom Giordano Talks With Sen. Toomey About Republican Strategy For Immigration Reform

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Dom Giordano questioned Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey (R) today on 1210 WPHT about the Republican Strategy for immigration reform.

Giordano asked the Senator why this issue has taken precedent on the Republican agenda ahead of the fight around the Affordable Care Act and the economy.

"I think we do need to reform our immigration system, a system that allows us to have 12 million people here illegally is obviously not working properly," Toomey said.

He continued, "I'm not sure this is the moment to do this and I think we could be headed to a Republican controlled Senate a year from now, in which case we could end up with a much better product."

Giordano followed up by asking the Senator what is driving Republican leadership to move on the matter at this time, with Toomey replying, "I don't know the answer, it's over in the House leadership that seemed to grab a hold of this idea, but we're less than a year away from being in a potentially very different political environment, and that's my reservation about doing it."

To Listen To Full Interview, Click Here

Giordano asked Toomey about his opposition to the nomination by President Obama of Debo Adegbile, who at one point represented Mumia Abu-Jamal, to the position of Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice.

Toomey answered, "This is a very disturbing selection on the part of the President…This is a man that used the resources under his control when he was running the legal department of the NAACP to try to secure more leniency, if not a complete reversal, of the conviction of an unrepentant cop killer. This was outrageous."

Toomey also criticized President Obama for his efforts to go around Congress to further his policy agenda saying, "We have a President who does seem to believe he can make up the law as he goes along. He decides which aspects of which laws to enforce…and then he thinks he can unilaterally change laws such as Obamacare…This is not consistent with our Constitution."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.