Secretary Napolitano: Administration Committed to Immigration Reform

November 13, 2009

Said concrete progress has been achieved since 2007

Washington, DC –Today, in a major address, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano clearly articulated the administration’s plan for achieving comprehensive immigration reform. The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum.  The Forum is a non-partisan, non-profit pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington and a member of the Reform Immigration for America campaign.

Today Secretary Napolitano, the President’s designated leader on immigration reform, made a real commitment to finally achieving comprehensive immigration reform. We could not be more pleased. Secretary Napolitano demonstrated that she not only has a deep understanding of the complexities of the immigration issue, but that she and the administration expect legislation in early 2010. She showed the kind of strong leadership we have been expecting from the Administration, and we look forward to partnering with the Secretary, the Administration, and the President as they work toward finding solutions to our broken immigration system.

Secretary Napolitano indicated that many of the benchmarks that led to Congressional resistance to reform have been met, and that the political and policy context is decidedly different. She noted major achievements in law-enforcement and security measures, as well as great strides in technology use and fraud prevention. We agree.

As Governor of Arizona, Secretary Napolitano was clear about the need for immigration reform to restore the rule of law and the integrity of our immigration system.  She showed more of that forthright leadership today and we welcome the administration’s commitment to finally achieving a lasting and comprehensive reform that is fair, humane, and enhances our national security.

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