WEST DES MOINES – Mark Rees, Republican candidate in Iowa’s 3rd District, said Tuesday that he supports the signing of the Arizona immigration law. The law would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give police the ability to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.

The law has stirred controversy in recent days, but Rees believes the states must protect their interests by controlling their borders and gaining control of the unfunded federal burden to their education, health care and social service programs.

“In my opinion, the new bill contains adequate protections against racial and ethnic profiling,” said Rees. “Unless the federal government makes immigration and border security a priority and aggressively moves forward to solve the problem, border states have no choice but to take action.”