Napolitano Hearing Short on Details

January 15, 2009

At her confirmation hearing for DHS Secretary, Janet Napolitano, did little to inform the immigrant and immigrant rights community what direction she will be taking the department. Here are a couple of takes on her performance.

Immigration Policy Center (IPC) Director Angela Kelley issued the following statement after the confirmation hearing of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Gov. Janet Napolitano’s performance at today’s confirmation hearing to serve as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary deserves an “A” for “know-how”, but an “incomplete” for “how-to” reform DHS and our country’s broken immigration system.

Serving more as a tea party than a rigorous cross examination, confirmation hearings are notoriously poor venues for deep policy discussions. The Governor has a wealth of relevant experience and a deep understanding of all of the issues about which the Senators questioned her. However, the hearing left little room for drilling down into the specifics of complex policy issues. While discussion of enforcement was plentiful, questions and (therefore answers) about what to do with 12 million people living without documentation in the U.S. were in short supply.

DHS has focused much of its energy on sweeping-up undocumented workers, while little is spent on bad actor employers intentionally operating outside the law and even less on critical immigration services. Napolitano must chart a new direction for DHS ,as well as provide the wisdom and leadership needed to devise common sense solutions to our immigration system which move the country forward and are consistent with the American values of fairness, opportunity, and the rule of law.

We are optimistic that, once in office, Gov. Napolitano will provide more detailed answers to many of the outstanding policy questions surrounding effective immigration enforcement, the need for reform legislation, achieving timely and efficient immigration services, and a multitude of other issues she will be forced to confront from day one.

For information on this confirmation and earlier hearings of Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary, read our blog www.ImmigrationImpact.com.

From America’s Voice:

The U.S. Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs today hosted a confirmation hearing for President-elect Obama’s nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ). Below is a statement from Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“Governor Napolitano knows that ending illegal immigration will only be possible if Congress enacts common-sense comprehensive immigration reform, but at today’s hearing she missed a golden opportunity to make the case. She failed to underscore President-elect Obama’s commitment to moving reform legislation in 2009. Though she made the case for smarter policy at the border and in the workplace, she failed to highlight the glaring need for an earned citizenship program and reforms of the legal immigration system.

“For years, she has been a vocal leader pressuring Washington to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. As DHS Secretary, she has the opportunity and the obligation to use her new position to help lead the effort. We hope she does so, and soon.”