Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl are continuing to press Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the decision to limit Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration-enforcement authority.

Amid controversy over Arpaio's ongoing crime-suppression sweeps, Immigration and Customs Enforcement dropped the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office from the 287(g) "task force model" that allowed deputies to enforce federal immigration laws on the streets. (The Sheriff's Office still can enforce immigration laws in the jails.) Homeland Security officials have said Arpaio's wide-reaching operations don't align with ICE priorities of targeting only "serious criminal aliens."

McCain and Kyl, both Arizona Republicans, have been exchanging letters with Napolitano on the topic since October.

"It is our desire that (the Department of Homeland Security) continue to have a productive working relationship with its local law-enforcement partners in Arizona," McCain and Kyl wrote last month in their most recent letter. "To that end, we would appreciate a specific response outlining what steps are necessary for all 287(g)-participating jurisdictions within Arizona to take part in the task-force model."

The senators have not received an answer, but on Thursday, Napolitano was asked what it would take for Arpaio's office to rejoin the model.

"It would require them to agree to the standards that the other law-enforcement agencies have agreed to do," Napolitano said during a meeting with reporters and editors at The Arizona Republic.

In other developments:

• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group, on Wednesday filed an ethics complaint against McCain over his recording of health-care-related robocalls (automated phone calls) in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota. In the calls, McCain urged listeners to petition certain senators to support his amendment to block proposed Medicare cuts. CREW argues that the robocalls, paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, violate a Senate rule.

McCain dismissed CREW as "a far-left group" and said the complaint is meritless.

"They might have a beef if I paid for it with Senate money or official money, but that was a political issue paid for with political contributions," McCain said. "It isn't any more complicated than that."

McCain also has made at least two rounds of robocalls to Arizona voters, paid for by his campaign organization Friends of John McCain.

• Kyl was one of five senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee who on Thursday opposed the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009, better known as the media shield bill. Kyl has criticized the measure, which the panel endorsed 14-5, for not providing adequate protection against the disclosure of sensitive national-security information. The full Senate still has to act on legislation.

• Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard goes back to Washington so often that one might get the impression he is more interested in federal office than the gubernatorial campaign he's exploring. Goddard, a Democrat, was in D.C. from Wednesday to Friday to meet with banking-industry officials about foreclosure issues. He also chatted by phone with McCain about Luke Air Force Base and met with Democratic Reps. Harry Mitchell, Gabrielle Giffords and Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona on other issues.

Gov. Jan Brewer, the Republican who could face Goddard in next year's election, also was in Washington last week for the official Capitol Christmas tree-lighting ceremony and to meet with the state's delegation members about health-care reform and other issues.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/12/13/20091213nowicki1213.html