DHS chief admits amnesty a 'tough sell'
May 20, 2009
As immigrants' rights groups are pressing President Barack Obama to step up efforts at comprehensive reform this year, one prominent member of Obama's cabinet is acknowledging that the economic downturn has made legalization of illegal immigrants tougher to sell to the American public.
'When unemployment is up, anything that looks like you're taking jobs away from …people who are lawfully here-citizens of the United States-is going to meet a lot of resistance,' Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said during an exchange with reporters Tuesday morning.
The homeland security chief and former Arizona governor said the economic slump may also have eased some anti-immigration feeling by decreasing the flow of illegal migrants into the U.S. 'Given that the numbers have gone down, some of the intensity of the debate seems to have dissipated,' she said.
The Politico (Washington, DC)
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