Napolitano: Border bill step to reform

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Friday said the just-signed law that shores up the U.S.-Mexican border demonstrates the border is not political.

President Barack Obama signed the Southwest Border Security bill Friday.

Napolitano joined White House press secretary Robert Gibbs during the regular press briefing and told reporters the law not only adds new resources to the border, but also makes permanent many of the resources that have been added to the area in the last 18 months.

"What's significant about this bill, in addition to its contents, is that it (Congress) passed something with bipartisan support that gives us the resources to continue efforts that were well under way and demonstrates that the border is not and should not be a political issue," Napolitano said. "It is a matter of national security in which we all, both parties, have a stake."

Napolitano said the measure adds 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents and provides $68 million for Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry, in addition to 200 special agents, investigators and intelligence analysts for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two more unmanned aircraft systems, $14 million to deploy improved tactical communications technology and $196 million for the Justice Department to add prosecutors, immigration judges and support for detention and incarceration of criminal aliens.

Under questioning by reporters, Napolitano said the bill represents a step toward comprehensive immigration reform.

"The efforts on overall immigration reform are ongoing," Napolitano said. "But the point I'm making is that you need to multitask. You need to secure the border and have a safe and secure border area, and you need immigration reform.

"That's what this president has set out to do. That's what he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to work on. That's why he has invited Republicans and Republican leadership to the table to say, look, let's get to the issue of immigration reform."