WASHINGTON-
Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo on Tuesday joined other lawmakers calling for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign, citing “leadership failures” on illegal immigration more than the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
Gonzales’s job security has been in question in recent days as members of Congress have demanded to know whether the decision to fire the prosecutors was a Bush administration purge to install political cronies in plum jobs.
Tancredo, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, said in a statement Tuesday that he doesn’t believe Gonzales’ handling of the prosecutors’ firings alone warrants his dismissal.
But “his total mishandling of the affair is simply the latest in a series of leadership failures at the Justice Department,” chiefly his handling of illegal immigration prosecutions, Tancredo said.
“Gonzales’ legacy at the DOJ has been one of misplaced priorities, political miscalculation, and a failure to enforce the laws which he has sworn to uphold,” he said. “I think that it is time for him to move on.”
Tancredo faulted several Justice Department decisions dealing with border crimes, including the prosecution of two border patrol agents for shooting a Mexican drug smuggler and trying to cover it up.
Tancredo said Gonzales should have overturned local and state “sanctuary” policies, which Tancredo said allow people to help illegal immigrants avoid deportation.
Tancredo also said Gonzales should have gotten tough on nations that resist U.S. attempts to return foreigners who have broken U.S. laws.
