by Mark Silva
President Barack Obama's new "border czar'' - and no, his business card won't read that way - has some experience with this business.
Alan Bersin, a former U.S. attorney who also once served as California's education secretary and superintendent of schools in San Diego, led a 1990s crackdown on illegal border crossings - his campaign to seal the border around San Diego pushing migrants to the east.
As Obama prepares for his first visit to Mexico on Thursday to discuss drug wars and illegal immigration with Mexico's president, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has tapped Berson to oversee the administration's work in ending drug-cartel violence along the U.S.-Mexico border and stemming the tide of illegal immigration.
"Alan brings years of vital experience with local, state and international partners to help us meet the challenges we face at our borders," Napolitano said in a statement issued today "He will lead the effort to make our borders safe while working to promote commerce and trade."
Napolitano planned to introduce Bersin on a bridge over the Rio Grande River connecting El Paso with Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a city plagued by violence among drug cartels and Mexican authorities that has killed more than 10,650 people since December 2006.
After announcing Bersin's appointment at a border news conference, Napolitano was traveling to other border towns in New Mexico and Arizona to coordinate plans for disruption of illegal immigration. Then she would join Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City.
(Alan Bersin, above left, then secretary of education in California, pictured at a Board of Edcuation meeting in 2006. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli / AP)
From 1993 to 1998, Bersin was the federal prosecutor who led the government's crackdown on illegal immigrants at the California-Mexico border. Bersin and Napolitano both served as U.S. attorneys during the Clinton administration.
Toward the end of his tenure, Bersin doubled as Southwest border representative for the attorney general. Under his watch, the U.S. rolled out Operation Gatekeeper in the San Diego area, discouraging illegal crossings there. Migrants and smugglers found easier routes to the east.
Bersin has served as chairman of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and as education secretary for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"President Obama could not have selected a more qualified, more experienced person to join his administration -- especially when it comes to issues along our southwest border," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Comments
Amnesty for illegal immigrants in the United States, will cost taxpayers more than the Liberals will admit? The majority who have no papers are paid under the proverbial table, by parasite employers. Those who are using fraudulent or bogus Social Security Numbers, do pay Federal taxes. A great example of the pathway illegal aliens have fraudulently, exploited free money is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In his book financial analyst and economist Edwin Rubinstein. He states that (EITC) is the largest anti-poverty program in the United States -- and the most illegal-immigrant friendly. In 2007, more than 23 million households received more than $47 billion in the EITC payments. Much of the so-called "tax relief" goes to people who never paid a cent in taxes, and may have already defrauded the government of huge sums each year.
Posted by: Brittancus | April 15, 2009 3:56 PM
How much are all these czars drawing in a government salary? The only job market that is growing is government. Why does Obama need czars and cabinet members? Plus, these czars are not accountable to anyone but Obama - not even Congress.
Posted by: vla | April 15, 2009 4:18 PM
vla, I concede your second point (or at least, I think it could be a *potential* problem although I think we should wait with a judgement until something worrisome actually occurs). But as to your first point, I ask: what would you suggest? I think government should be responsible for providing security and protection; in my view, in fact, that's it's basic responsibility towards all citizens. And for that, you need not only the actual officers/soldiers/guards/etc., but also people with administrative duties. To be honest, I find it worrying that so much of US security duties are handed over to private businesses, from prisons to private contractors like Blackwater.
Posted by: Candia | April 15, 2009 6:19 PM
Canada: I suggest we secure the border and let ICE do their jobs and ship the people who are here illegally back, or let them all move to Nancy Pelosi's neighborhood since she thinks they're so patriotic. Mexico knows we're chumps - we pay entitlements to these illegals and they send their money back to Mexico.
Posted by: vla | April 15, 2009 7:19 PM
The Czars are those folks that don't have to go thru the confirmation process (think backround checks).
Posted by: Terry | April 15, 2009 8:00 PM
Any government position in America that has the name czar attached is a farce. Good that Bersin's card won't read as such. Obama needs to enforce the existing immigration laws as they stand--then we can begin to deal with the mess. Why allow lawbreakers to force the USA to change policy or law, or to pay for an entire new arm of gov't? Obama has shown weakness and manipulative tendencies in not allowing the truth to come out regarding this and regarding a few other things. Pity. It is important to always differentiate between legal and illegal immigration. Huge difference always.
Posted by: Vivian | April 15, 2009 8:12 PM
10,000 troops on the border, problem solved. Just another farce from our government.
Posted by: bubba Porter | April 16, 2009 6:18 AM
Do an internet search on Eisenhower and illegal aliens. And see what can and should be done. This pandering to a foreign nation (mexico) at the expense of our citizens has to stop. Ran across this article on msn.com.
Using March 2008 data collected by the Census Bureau, the report found 8.3 million undocumented immigrants have jobs in the U.S., making up 5.4 percent of our country’s workforce.
Two-thirds work in jobs on the lower-wage rungs of the services, construction, production and repair industries. Only 31 percent of U.S.-born workers fill these same jobs, the report found. In fact, the 2007 media household income of unauthorized immigrants was $36,000, well below the $50,000 media household income for U.S.-born residents.
Go to any unemployment office and see how fast jobs paying $12.00 an hour are filled. Jobs americans won't do? Another myth bites the dust.
Posted by: William Root | April 16, 2009 6:49 AM
10,000 troops on the border, problem solved. Just another farce from our government.
Posted by: bubba Porter | April 16, 2009 6:18 AM
And what orders are you going to give those troops Bubba to solve the problem? "Shoot any hispanic looking person on sight?". Free fire zones at the border?
Posted by: Angel | April 16, 2009 9:20 AM
We are a consensual society under a Constitution that provides rights, freedoms and the mechanics to create laws that we citizens live by. Citizens accept that breaking our laws results in proscribed punishments and full jails testify to the fact. An unholy alliance of lawbreaking illegal aliens, criminal employers and elected officials that look the other way are hypocrites and anarchists. They feel that they can pick and choose which laws are convenient for them to follow and willingly break those that are personally inconvenient. This breaks down our admired legal system and works against the rule of law that we depend upon for our daily safety and national security. All lawbreaking illegal aliens should be deported, all criminal employers should be jailed and elected officials that have failed to carry out their oath of office to defend the Constitution and our laws should be fired, voted out of office, impeached and perhaps charged with criminal dereliction of duty. The 1986 amnesty was a total failure. Never again!
Posted by: Estoban | April 16, 2009 10:52 AM