Janet Napolitano wants comprehensive immigration reform more than homeland security

janet-napolitano2010 is a big election year. Not only for Congress, but also several states have Governorships up for election as well. So why not make sure a bunch of illegals are able to vote in 2010 to help Democrats win? Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has expressed her concerns over “right-wing extremists” and returning military veterans, but doesn’t seem at all too concerned with muslim jihadists like Nidal Malik Hasan. Instead, Napolitano is now moving on to something much bigger and more important for her and the Democrats, A comprehensive immigration reform bill for early 2010 that with debate and passage of the legislation could occur before the mid-term elections later that year. Homeland Security Today has more:

The US Border Patrol has grown to 20,000 officers and DHS has built nearly 700 miles of border fencing since that time, demonstrating the commitment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enforcement, Napolitano noted. New technologies from biometrics to surveillance equipment along the US southwestern border have brought an unprecedented focus to keeping illegal immigrants out of the United States, she added.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also has seized more than $34 million in cash from smugglers attempting to take it into Mexico so far this year, the secretary said, more than four times as much at this point last year.

But perhaps most importantly, the debate over immigration reform in 2007 occurred at a time when extremely high numbers of illegal immigrants were entering or attempting to enter the United States, Napolitano asserted. Now improved enforcement and economic recession have reduced the number of people attempting to enter the United States illegally, creating a different environment for the debate.

Moreover, Congress should be able to act relatively quickly on immigration reform legislation because the elements of the debate are essentially the same as they were when legislation was debated in 2006 and 2007, making lawmakers well familiar with the terms of immigration reform.

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November 13, 2009 · Filed Under Illegal Immigration, Janet Napolitano


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