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Eli Kantor is a labor, employment and immigration law attorney. He has been practicing labor, employment and immigration law for more than 36 years. He has been featured in articles about labor, employment and immigration law in the L.A. Times, Business Week.com and Daily Variety. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Journal. Telephone (310)274-8216; eli@elikantorlaw.com. For more information, visit beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com and and beverlyhillsemploymentlaw.com

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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Napolitano: Immigration Hasn't Been a Linchpin, Red Hot Issue in 2012

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
September 18, 2012

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/09/janet-napolitano-immigration-presidential-campaign-issue-not-linchpin-red-hot/

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano doesn'’t see immigration as a “red hot” issue this year.

"While immigration hasn'’t been as much of “a linchpin, red hot issue, it'’s still debated, no doubt,”" she told an audience at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute Monday.

Napolitano and Mexican Secretary of Interior Alejandro Poiré spoke about U.S. – Mexico collaboration in tackling illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border and drug and human trafficking.

"“The politics of these issues are very complex on both side of the border,”" explained Poiré, noting that both sides must understand political implications these issues have in the partnering nation.

Napolitano spoke just hours before Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered a speech on immigration to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles. Romney accused the Obama administration of failing to secure the southern border.

In her remarks, Napolitano compared establishing trust between the two nations and their people to breaking down walls, saying that there is a developed “tradition of law enforcement not trusting the law enforcement on the other side.”

According to her, having close relationships with the ambassador of the other nation and knowing the person on the other end of the phone is of great help. Especially, when trying to deal with political implications and press on the other side of the border, trying “to make sure the correct narrative” gets out.

However, when it came to illegal immigration and the U.S.- Mexico border, the narratives of the two secretaries differed.

“The plain fact of the matter is that there is more manpower, technology at that border than ever before,” said Napolitano. Currently, the number of border agents on duty is 21,000, more than double the number of agents that patrolled the border in 2004. ”The illegal migration into the States hasn’t been this low probably since 1971, 1970. Is there still illegal migration? Yes. But is it much more under control than it was at its peak? Absolutely.”

The narrative on the other side of the border is that the Mexico is no longer a nation to be escaped from. Poiré noted that the nation has quickly recovered from the economic crisis that still seems to troubling the United States.

“"Mexico'’s rate of growth has been steadily increasing. It was one of the countries that recovered more quickly from that economic crisis,"” he said. ”"We did it without high levels of inflation, without significant devaluation, picking up level of employment relatively rapidly, and improving social services such as universal health coverage, opportunities for education and also for new jobs, which is also one of the underlining determinants of the lower undocumented migration into the United States.”"

A report released by the Pew Research Center in the spring found that the net migration from Mexico has fallen to zero or less. This change has been attributed to the increase in deportation, decrease in attempted border crossing, and the fact that many deported immigrants are not planning to return to the U.S.

In addition to the economic improvements in Mexico, the report also noted that “as of 2009, a typical Mexican woman was projected to have an average 2.4 children in her lifetime, compared with 7.3 for her 1960 counterpart.”

"The numbers at the border are “materially different. It’'s a hard message to get out. That’'s a hard perception to change,”" said Napolitano, explaining that when this perception changes other initiatives that U.S. and Mexico have been collaborating on will be able to be implemented to their fullest capacity.

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