Hawk or Hack?

By Jacob Laksin
FrontPageMagazine.com | 11/26/2008

It’s fitting that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, president-elect Barack Obama's likely pick for Homeland Security secretary, hails from a border state. Since its creation in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Department of Homeland Security has been regarded mainly as a counterterrorism agency. But with three of its member agencies focusing on immigration, DHS also is very much at the center of the debate about the country’s immigration policy, including illegal immigration. How would Napolitano approach that contentious issue?
A review of her gubernatorial record, as well as interviews with Arizona political insiders, suggests no definitive answer. From one perspective, Napolitano understands the problem of illegal immigration and has taken halting steps to combat it. As governor, Napolitano in August 2005 declared a “state of emergencyâ€