The Washington Post reports that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) is President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Gov. Napolitano’s history is that she is intolerant of illegal immigration. She was one of the first politicians to call for an increased US presence on the southern border.
The Secretary position is charged with administering US law on immigration and so the selection says nothing about the possibility of positive legislation in 2009. Nevertheless with the selection of a well-known border state governor, President-elect Obama may be signaling that immigration is going to be a central issue of his Presidency.