DHS Secretary Napolitano Outlines Immigration Policies on NPR: U.S. Needs More Enforcement and “Boots on the Ground”

February 16, 2009

Madeleine Brand interviewed DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on immigration policy on NPR today. It was a troubling interview, specifically her almost myopic focus on the need for more enforcement, more “manpower,” “boots on the ground”, technology, etc. Indeed, Napolitano sounded just as hawkish on enforcement as Secretary Chertof did.

Napolitano might well have been talking about the war in Iraq as opposed to immigration law and its enforcement. The interviewer caught the drift, with Napolitano’s response telling:

“Q 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?

A. Again, that’s for the Congress to decide.”

There is no mention of non-enforcement immigration issues within the Secretary’s purview. Here are a few:

1. The many problems with immigrant detention, including poor health care, poor conditions, deaths, etc. that make the news regularly.

2. The persistent claims of racial profiling in immigation enforcement.

3. The thousands of deaths along the U.S./Mexico border resulting from increased enforcement operations.

4. The fact that, despite a great increase in fees last year, the processing of petitions for naturalization and other immigration benefits have long, long backlogs.

5. The fact that, despite record numbers of removals ever year, which cost the taxpayers billions of dollars, there was no indication until the recent slide in the American economy that the undocumented immigrant population in the United States was decreasing.

6. The fact that increased enforcement and removal campaigns have overwhelmed the immigration courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, and federal courts.

On a very specific level, this letter to the Secretary (Hat tip to Dan Kowalski!) lists some simple administrative changes that the Secretary could take to resolve some hardships on immigrant widows and widowers of U.S. citizens.

One possible good sign. In response to a question about human impacts of immigration raids, Napolitano mentioned that there would be a focus on employers. However, she did not say that there would be any reduction in workplace raids like we saw in New Bedford, Postville, and other small towns, which resulted in the arrest and removal of large percentages of the community (with, coincidentally, Latinos comprising more than 90%-plus of those arrested).

Click here for Roberto Lovato’s take on Napolitano’s militaristic stance on immigration.