Questions for Secretary Napolitano: Is Canada Different Than Mexico?

Jena McNeill / May 05, 2009

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano is tentatively scheduled to testify before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee about DHS immigration enforcement policies, tomorrow, May 6, 2009. Given Secretary Napolitano’s novel interpretations of federal law, the Heritage Foundation has posted a series of questions (and suggested answers) for the Secretary on issues including: Real ID, no-match data, detention and removal, citizenship services, work visas, drug cartels, workplace enforcement, E-Verify, and state and local cooperation.

While these questions have focused on immigration enforcement issues, Secretary Napolitano’s recent statements on the Canadian border should not be ignored. She recently emphasized to Canadian press that she thought both borders, the northern and the southern border with Mexico, should be treated the same in terms of security measures. But treating the borders the same doesn’t recognize the realities: that these borders are drastically different, with different challenges, different threats, and different political environments. (more…)