Republicans Tom Ridge and Karl Rove have both expressed disapproval of Arizona's new pro-racial profiling law, which was signed by Governor Jan Brewer last week.
Tom Ridge, who was the first Homeland Defense secretary under President George W. Bush and is a former Governor of Pennsylvania, said he was "uncomfortable" with what he had heard of the Arizona legislation. He also went so far as to suggest that Congress needs to "legitimize" the status of the 12 million-plus undocumented in the U.S.
"It's ridiculous to think ... we're going to identify 12 million to 14 million people and send them back," the AP quotes him as saying.
Republican political strategist Karl Rove, often referred to as "Bush's brain" and the architect of W's 2000 and 2004 presidential wins, has also expressed misgivings.
"I think there is going to be some constitutional problems with the bill," he stated while addressing a Florida crowd during a book tour. "I wished they hadn't passed it, in a way."