New York Times (The Caucus Blog) by Julia Preston: In a blunt speech on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano took on critics of the administration's immigration policies on both the left and right, telling Republicans that security along the border with Mexico is "at an apex" and rejecting calls from immigrant advocacy groups to slow the pace of deportations.
In forceful language that seemed to echo President Obama's newly aggressive tone, Ms. Napolitano said she was offering a "reality check" to politicians who say the administration has let the southwest border run out of control.
"The border is safer than it has been in decades," Ms. Napolitano said in a speech at American University in Washington. She said critics had unfairly "minimized" the work of the border agents patrolling the line.
The Republican presidential candidates have been virtually unanimous in condemning President Obama for weak border security. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who has been attacked by his rivals for being too liberal on some immigration issues, suggested last week that the United States might have to send troops to Mexico to stop violent drug traffickers from coming across the border.
Ms. Napolitano also defended the administration's broader enforcement efforts, which have led to nearly 400,000 deportations in each of the past two years. She said her department was realigning its resources to focus on deporting immigrants convicted of crimes, while down-playing the removal of immigrants here illegally who had not committed more serious violations.
She said a record number of 195,000 convicted criminals were deported in 2010. More than 90 percent of the foreigners deported last year, Ms. Napolitano said, were criminal convicts, fugitives or recent border crossers, the administration's priority groups for deportation.
The secretary said she would not cancel or suspend a fingerprint-sharing program her department has been expanding across the country. The program, Secure Communities, has been assailed by Latino and immigrant groups, who say it swept up many non-criminal immigrants.
Ms. Napolitano admitted the program "got off to a bad start," because officials "did not explain clearly how it works and who is required to participate." But she said recent improvements have made it the "single best tool" to focus immigration agents on ridding the country of foreign criminals.
Governors in Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, all Democrats, have tried to withdraw from Secure Communities. In her speech, Ms. Napolitano said that terminating the program anywhere "would only weaken public safety."
But she also rejected Republican claims that the administration is circumventing Congress by sparing some illegal immigrants from deportation. "Vesting discretion in our immigration enforcement officers," she said, "is not amnesty."
In forceful language that seemed to echo President Obama's newly aggressive tone, Ms. Napolitano said she was offering a "reality check" to politicians who say the administration has let the southwest border run out of control.
"The border is safer than it has been in decades," Ms. Napolitano said in a speech at American University in Washington. She said critics had unfairly "minimized" the work of the border agents patrolling the line.
The Republican presidential candidates have been virtually unanimous in condemning President Obama for weak border security. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who has been attacked by his rivals for being too liberal on some immigration issues, suggested last week that the United States might have to send troops to Mexico to stop violent drug traffickers from coming across the border.
Ms. Napolitano also defended the administration's broader enforcement efforts, which have led to nearly 400,000 deportations in each of the past two years. She said her department was realigning its resources to focus on deporting immigrants convicted of crimes, while down-playing the removal of immigrants here illegally who had not committed more serious violations.
She said a record number of 195,000 convicted criminals were deported in 2010. More than 90 percent of the foreigners deported last year, Ms. Napolitano said, were criminal convicts, fugitives or recent border crossers, the administration's priority groups for deportation.
The secretary said she would not cancel or suspend a fingerprint-sharing program her department has been expanding across the country. The program, Secure Communities, has been assailed by Latino and immigrant groups, who say it swept up many non-criminal immigrants.
Ms. Napolitano admitted the program "got off to a bad start," because officials "did not explain clearly how it works and who is required to participate." But she said recent improvements have made it the "single best tool" to focus immigration agents on ridding the country of foreign criminals.
Governors in Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, all Democrats, have tried to withdraw from Secure Communities. In her speech, Ms. Napolitano said that terminating the program anywhere "would only weaken public safety."
But she also rejected Republican claims that the administration is circumventing Congress by sparing some illegal immigrants from deportation. "Vesting discretion in our immigration enforcement officers," she said, "is not amnesty."
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