Speaking to Spanish-language television network Univision, Michael Steele said this: "The actions of one state's governor is not a reflection of an entire country, nor is it a reflection of an entire political party."
Steele's reference is to the decision by Arizona Republican governor Jan Brewer to sign the bill.
"The governor and the people of Arizona made a decision that they thought was in their best interest, and that's the beauty of a republic, that's who we are," Michael Steele added, as The Hill reports. (The Hill has posted video of the exchange, though it is overdubbed in Spanish.)
Last month a judge put on hold the most controversial aspects of the law, among them requirements that law enforcement must check a person's immigration status in certain situations and that immigrants carry their identification papers in public.
Steele's comments are somewhat off-message from a GOP that has largely embraced the immigration measure, along with a majority of Americans.
President Obama has criticized the measure as potentially discriminatory, and Latino leaders have suggested the GOP has "declared war on Latinos." A few Republicans have worried that while its rhetoric around immigration could help the GOP in the short term, it could alienate a key voting bloc in the long run.
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