• Listen to this segment

President-elect Barack Obama officially named half of his major cabinet appointments yesterday at a news conference. As expected, Senator Hillary Clinton was introduced as Secretary of State of his incoming administration, and Bush appointee Robert Gates was offered to keep his position as Defense Secretary. Rounding out Obama’s national security team are Marine General James Jones as national security adviser, Eric Holder as attorney general, and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

In replacing Michael Chertoff, Napolitano will be assuming responsibilities over a number of key issues including immigration and terrorism. She is being touted for her experience in governing a key state along the U.S. – Mexico border. Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl have spoken well of Napolitano to the press with Kyl stating, “She knows border issues. She knows the problems of a state like Arizona which has to put up with a lot of illegal immigration.” With ICE raids apprehending record numbers of immigrants over the past year, Napolitano, who two years ago called for National Guard troops along the border, will undoubtedly shape the future of immigration policy in the Obama administration.

GUEST: Isabel Garcia, Arizona-based lawyer with Coalición de Derechos Humanos. For more information, visit www.derechoshumanosaz.net.