Secretary Napolitano on New DHS

Interviewed by NPR:

We're going to do a few things. First of all, the rule of law applies on the border, and we want to make sure that that happens, No. 1. That means manpower. That means technology — things like ground sensors. It means interior enforcement against those who intentionally are going into the illegal labor market and creating a demand for illegal laborers, so that's all going to continue. How we do that may change with me as a new secretary, but we want to make sure the rule of law is applied, and it's applied fairly and forcefully across the border.

[...]

The section of the fence for which Congress actually appropriated the funds has been complete, but I've been one of the people out there saying, "Look, you cannot build a fence from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas, and call that an immigration policy." You've got to have boots on the ground. You've got to have technology. You've got to have interior enforcement of our workplace laws. Some fencing in some places may make sense, but only if it's part of an overall system.

Unlike pro-amnesty former Secretary Chertoff, who couldn't help but insert himself into immigration policy debates, Napolitano sounds like she intends to steer clear of that sort of thing:

[NPR Interviewer:] I'm hearing a lot of enforcement from you right now. What about the other side of it? What about the immigration part of it, and changing immigration policy to allow more or fewer immigrants in?

[Napolitano:] Again, that's for the Congress to decide.

Three times the interviewer tries to coax the Secretary into talking about policy. She did a good job explaining what U.S. policy is, rather than what she thinks it ought to be.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 04:51 PM

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