Obama calls Brown from Air Force One

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- President Obama called Senator Scott Brown this afternoon to discuss immigration and financial regulatory reform.

Obama made the call from Air Force One, as the president was on his way back to Washington from a fundraising trip to California.

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters this afternoon that Obama called to talk about the two issues, but did not elaborate. Brown is opposed to the current financial reform proposal that Democrats have been pushing, and has said he would join a Republican filibuster against it.

Immigration could come up later this year, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying that it would be a focus.

"The senator spoke with the president today regarding immigration," said Gail Gitcho, Brown's communications director. "Senator Brown told the president that he would review any legislation if it came before the Senate, but he believes that the immediate focus should be on fixing the economy and creating jobs."

Brown has opposed driver's licenses and in-state tuition breaks for illegal immigrants, although he has said that reforms should be made to help make the process easier for those seeking citizenship.

As a state senator in 2006, he co-sponsored an amendment aimed at barring companies that hired illegal immigrants from doing business with the state of Massachusetts. Earlier this year, before he won the US Senate special election, he filed legislation that would require the state attorney general to document proof of citizenship when prosecuting wage enforcement cases.

"I welcome legal immigration to this country," Brown said in a press release last year, in response to a state-commissioned report that urged Governor Deval Patrick to push for driver's licenses and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. "However, we are also a nation of laws and government should not adopt policies that encourage illegal immigration. Providing driver’s licenses and in-state tuition to illegal immigrant families will act as a magnet in drawing more people here in violation of the law and it will impose new costs on taxpayers. Government should strictly enforce the law, not ignore it with a wink and a nod or, even worse, pass laws that condone illegal behavior.”

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.