Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Friday morning that she is leaving to head the University of California system. Napolitano’s decision comes in the middle of what promises to be a long battle over immigration reform on Capitol Hill — a battle in which she has played a key role. So will her departure change anything?
Unlikely. “Secretary Napolitano’s tenure at the Department of Homeland Security was defined by a consistent disrespect for the rule of law,” said Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, a top opponent of the Gang of Eight immigration reform bill. “The resignation of Secretary Napolitano should refocus the attention of Congress on its first task: to ensure that the executive branch faithfully carries out the laws of the land. The most significant obstacle to immigration reform remains President Obama’s selective enforcement of the law. Any selection — interim or permanent — to replace Secretary Napolitano must disavow these aggressive non-enforcement directives or there is very little hope for successful immigration reform.”
