White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) Director Cecilia Muñoz, Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Alan Bersin and Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West met with law enforcement officials at the White House’s Eisenhower Executive Office Building to discuss the nation’s immigration system.
According to the DHS statement Arizona officials were not included in the discussion.
DPC Director Muñoz outlined the principles Obama’s proposal: cracking down on employers that hire undocumented workers, a form of amnesty, and streamlining our legal immigration system. Secretary Napolitano noted that in order to continue making progress, we need to modernize our immigration laws.
The DHS statement claims that “significant progress that has been made as the Administration has dedicated historic levels of personnel, technology, and resources to the Southwest border over the last four years, and undertaken an unprecedented effort to transform our nation’s immigration enforcement systems into one that focuses on public safety, border security, and the integrity of the immigration system.”
According to the DHS statement, the Secretary made it clear that immigration reform is the focus of the administration’s plan. DHS claims that the single best step (the country) can take is to continue to enhance border security, enabling our officers and agents along the border to spend the bulk of their time focused on public safety and national security threats. Law enforcement officials agreed that immigration reform will strengthen trust between communities and law enforcement agencies, and allow officers to focus resources on public safety.
Participants in the meeting included: Los Angeles County, Calif. Sheriff Leroy Baca; former New York Police Department/Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Police Bill Bratton; Calhoun County, Ala. Sheriff Larry Amerson; Oakwood, Ohio Chief of Police Alex Bebris; Loudoun County, Va. Sheriff Michael L. Chapman; Harris County, Texas Sheriff Adrian Garcia; Fremont, Calif. Police Chief and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) President Craig Steckler; Tuscaloosa County, Ala. Sheriff Edmund Sexton; Cambridge, Mass. Police Department Commissioner Robert Haas; Vermont State Police Director Thomas L’Esperance; Montgomery County, Md. Chief of Police Thomas Manger; Cook County, Ill. Homeland Security Executive Director Michael Masters; Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Superintendent-in-Chief Joseph O’Connor; Arlington County, Va. Chief of Police Douglas Scott; Utah Department of Public Safety Deputy Commissioner Keith Squires; IACP Director of the Research Division John Firman; Police Executive Research Forum Chief of Staff Andrea Luna; and Prince George’s County, Md. Assistant Chief of Police Kevin Davis.
On Feb. 4-5, Secretary Napolitano bypassed Arizona, and traveled to San Diego, California and Clint and El Paso, Texas to inspect border security operations at the Southwest border, meet with state and local stakeholders, and discuss the Department’s on-going efforts to secure the border while facilitating lawful travel and trade.