Thread: Napolitano would need to tackle immigration

Publish Date: 12/2/2008

Napolitano would need to tackle immigration


The Daily Record

Now that President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security, Americans have to learn more about her stance on an issue that is as incendiary as they come — illegal immigration.

We need to know how Napolitano would go about controlling the tide of undocumented migrants. And, just as important, we need to know that she has the courage and character to grab hold of this tough issue – one that, let’s face it, often has the same effect on politicians that garlic has on vampires.

We need to know all this because, if Napolitano is confirmed as homeland security secretary, she would take the helm of the troubled but incredibly important agency known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In one of its missteps, ICE officials surmised that the one way to get illegal immigrants out of the country was to ask them politely to leave. Only slightly more than a handful took the offer. And Operation Scheduled Departure was discontinued. It remains one of the great Washington mysteries as to why a gigantic department with more than 16,000 employees and an annual budget in excess of $5 billion is so weak and inept.

Actually, part of the reason could well be that the person whose name is on the Department of Homeland Security letterhead has, more times than not, tended to be a little too skilled at practicing politics. In fact, like Napolitano, the first homeland security chief was a politician – former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. The second was Michael Chertoff, a highly political former prosecutor and federal judge. An agency such as this is going to be political enough by virtue of the kinds of issues it deals with and the fact that it resides in Washington. It doesn’t need to be even more politicized by the person who runs it.

Frankly, this is a concern with Napolitano. While the governor wins high marks from some quarters for staking out positions in the sensible center – emphasizing border security, combined with an earned path to legalization for the undocumented – she has also taken her share of hits from others for being too timid in handling the issue. While Napolitano was one of the first border governors to declare a state of emergency and to welcome the National Guard to the Arizona-Mexico border, she also worked to water down a state law punishing those who hire illegal immigrants. And, as a politician on the way up, she has not always been eager to confront law enforcement officials, including the loony Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who has come under criticism for trampling on the rights of U.S. Hispanics in pursuit of illegal immigrants.

We hope Napolitano will show more gumption when she gets to Washington. She has the right ideas when it comes to immigration. What remains to be seen is whether she has the will to implement them. We’ll be watching.

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We hope Napolitano will show more gumption when she gets to Washington. She has the right ideas when it comes to immigration. What remains to be seen is whether she has the will to implement them. We’ll be watching.

And you can bet the bank that we here at ALIPAC, FAIR, NumbersUSA, and a host of many others will be watching as well.

Read my lips "Only complete enforcement of our existing laws is acceptable to the American people. There will never be another amnesty. Ever.