Palin Says Brewer Has Something Obama Lacks: 'Cojones'

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks to the crowd at a P.U.R.E. Ministries event June 29 in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo) ( )

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Sunday praised Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer for defending her state's immigration law in court against the Justice Department's lawsuit, saying she has the "cojones" that President Obama is lacking on border security.

Though the Obama administration this month will begin deploying 1,200 more National Guard troops to the southwest border, Palin said on "Fox News Sunday" that Brewer is tackling border security and putting her faith in legal immigration where Obama is not.

"Jan Brewer has the cojones that our president does not have," she said. "If our own president will not enforce our federal law, more power to Jan Brewer."

A U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday blocked key provisions of the immigration law from going into effect while the litigation proceeds. The Justice Department is trying to strike down the entire law, arguing that Arizona is improperly trying to seize enforcement authority from the federal government.

The administration denies claims that it is weak on border security, pointing to the National Guard deployment, as well as a buildup in Border Patrol, as evidence. Deportations of illegal immigrants are also up under Obama.

But with Arizona in particular seeing large swaths of public land teeming with drug cartel and illegal immigrant activity, Brewer and her colleagues claim their state's law was necessary. The law makes illegal immigration a state crime.

Palin called the judge's ruling "unfortunate" but hopefully "temporary."

"There are many, many more steps to take," she said, adding that the case could come before the Supreme Court.