Sen. Steve Smith said he doesn’t care how Arizona lawmakers try to stop illegal immigration, and that he supports any action taken to stop it.

“Any attention to securing our borders and fighting illegal immigration is good,” Smith said. “I’ve introduced bills to do both. I will continue to introduce bills that do both… I’m going to continue on both fronts as long as I’m here.”

Sen. Sylvia Allen says she’s sick and tired of excuses when it comes to solving the illegal immigration problem.

“Everybody just wants to sit around and gripe about it, complain about it, blame the federal government for it,” Allen said. “But when it comes to saying, ‘What can we do as a state to really try to solve the problem?’ Now it’s all the reasons why we can’t solve this problem.”

During the past several years, the Republican-led Legislature has passed some of the county’s toughest laws aimed at driving illegal immigrants from the state and deterring them from entering it.

For the most part, those laws have focused on enforcement within the state’s boundaries.

Now the strategy has shifted, and immigration hawks in the Legislature are taking their fight directly to the border.

About 60 Democratic members of Congress have filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court expressing their opposition to Arizona’s 2010 immigration enforcement law.

SACRAMENTO — California has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Arizona’s tough immigration law, saying it would drive illegal immigrants into other states.

The Arizona law passed two years ago has been largely blocked by court order because of court challenges. Among other things, it makes in a crime to be in the country illegally and to seek work.

TUCSON — Parents of school children in Arizona will be required to fill out new forms showing proof of residency for the upcoming school year.

Mesa Republican Bob Worsley admitted today that he likely made a mistake when he deleted his written criticisms of the state’s illegal immigration laws shortly after announcing he was running for the state Senate. But far from back-peddling, Worsley, who is running against former senator and immigration hawk Russell Pearce, said he believes the state suffers from immigration fatigue and should redirect its energy toward improving the economy.

A new report by the federal government estimates that the number of illegal immigrants living in Arizona has fallen by 200,000 since 2008.

Experts say the primary factor behind the exodus was a lack of jobs during the recession, but also noted that tighter border enforcement and tough immigration laws were contributing factors.

Federal authorities say they won’t deport six illegal immigrants arrested during a Phoenix protest over Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration policies.

Russell Pearce, the architect of many of Arizona’s anti illegal immigration laws, vowed tonight to return to the state Capitol, months after he was ousted in a recall election.