Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) declared a comprehensive immigration bill dead on arrival if the government does not first do more to secure its borders.

Graham tangled with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano during a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday about the administration’s desire to pass an immigration measure this year.

“I would bet you everything I own that the 2007 [immigration] bill wouldn’t pass this year,” Graham told Napolitano, predicting that the administration will “crash and burn” if it moves forward with a plan to push immigration legislation through Congress before the November elections.

“If immigration comes up this year it will be absolutely devastating to this issue” and future passage of a comprehensive bill, Graham insisted. “Most Americans think we will have lost our minds if we move forward without securing our border first.”