Homeland security chief: Illegal immigrants 'earned' right to be citizens

By Joe Newby

Below is an article reporting on a speech by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

Two important things he said.

1.  “It is also, frankly, in my judgment, a matter of who we are as Americans,” he added, “to offer the opportunity to those who want to be citizens, who’ve earned the right to be citizens, who are present in this country--many of whom came here as children--to have the opportunity that we all have to try to become American citizens.”  Dixon comment:  There are millions of people who want to be citizens of the United States.  I'm not sure how you earn the right to become citizens - other than to go through the process.



2.  “The five core missions of the Department of Homeland Security are guarding against terrorism, securing our borders, enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, safeguarding cyberspace and critical infrastructure in partnership with the private sector, and supporting emergency preparedness and response efforts at every level,” he said before calling for "comprehensive, common sense, immigration reform."  Dixon comment:  Let's look at the core missions.  a). Guarding against terrorism (Doing well, Grade A), b). securing our borders (Failing, Grade F), c). enforcing our nation’s immigration laws (Failing, Grade F), d). safeguarding cyberspace (So-so - Identity theft is a huge problem, Grade C+), critical infrastructure (All we seem to hear is that our infrastructure - roads, bridges, power grid, etc. - is in bad shape and we need massive spending projects to address the issues, Grade D), e). supporting emergency preparedness (Federal and state agencies have evolved to do a good job on natural disasters, other potential threats have not been tested, luckily, Grade B).

The entire article is shown below.

On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told the United States Conference of Mayors the 11 million or so illegal immigrants in the country have earned the right to be citizens, CNS News reported.
“An earned path to citizenship for those currently present in this country is a matter of, in my view, homeland security to encourage people to come out from the shadows,” he said.

Johnson also said enforcing immigration law is one of the main missions of his agency.
“The five core missions of the Department of Homeland Security are guarding against terrorism, securing our borders, enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, safeguarding cyberspace and critical infrastructure in partnership with the private sector, and supporting emergency preparedness and response efforts at every level,” he said before calling for "comprehensive, common sense, immigration reform."
Johnson told the 270 mayors present that providing a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally is a matter of homeland security in order to encourage them to "come out of the shadows," a favorite sound bite used by those who support amnesty.
One reader at CNS wondered if bank robbers have also earned the right to rob, or if prostitutes have earned the right to ply their trade.
CNS said Friday's speech was one of the first Johnson has made since becoming the new DHS chief in December.