Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to visit San Diego

Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security secretary, is scheduled to visit San Diego on Monday, Oct. 18.

Napolitano is making the trip to meet with law enforcement leaders of the Coast Guard, visit National Guard troops who are deployed along the border and to be part of a news conference to talk about the Obama administration's large investment of personnel, technology and resources at the Southwest border.

The news conference is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro.

-- Lori Kozlowski
twitter.com/lorikozlowski

Photo: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano during a news conference with Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton on Oct. 6, 2010, in Washington. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Ominous new Gallup findings for Democrats: Blacks still love Obama, others not so much

The good news for President Obama is his popular support among blacks is holding steady at 91%.

The bad news is no other group of potential voters likes him that much.

In fact, 29 days before his first midterm elections, the Democrat's approval ratings remain mired below 50%.

A new Gallup Poll this morning finds his approval rating for September was 45%, almost the same as August's 44%. Obama's not exceeded the crucial 50% level in a single month so far this year.

Since Obama's name is not on any ballot Nov. 2, the proportions of Americans who like or dislike the fellow on Oct. 1 of a midterm election year shouldn't matter, in theory. However, history indicates otherwise.

Presidents with approval ratings below 50% at midterm time see their party suffer substantial losses in its congressional membership, regardless of how much explaining and blaming the president attempts in the campaign leading up to what becomes, in effect, a referendum on the president.

And since Democrats currently hold substantial majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, they have substantially more seats to lose. A switch of 39 House and 10 Senate seats would give control of both houses to the Republicans for the first time since they lost it in 2007.

Democrats (79%) and liberals (75%) still like Obama a lot.

But after that, his approval percentage goes to the deep south. Support among even young people is down: 57%. Hispanics: 55%. Moderates: 54%. Unmarrieds: 53%. Easterners: 52%. Women: 47%. Midwesterners and Westerners: 45%.

Men: 43%. Southerners: 41%. Independents: 40%. Marrieds: 39%. Seniors: 38%. Whites: 36%. Conservatives: 23%.

Amazingly, among Republicans Obama still manages to hold the support of 12%.

-- Andrew Malcolm

New research indicates 100% of the 53,000 global readers who clicked here, now follow The Ticket with Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available here on Kindle now. Feel free to share this item on Facebook or ReTweet using the buttons below.

Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

Social media wrap: Bloomberg, Murdoch, mayors and business leaders call for immigration reform

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch joined fellow media tycoon Michael Bloomberg in calling for immigration reform Thursday before a congressional subcommittee.

Perhaps an unlikely alliance given Murdoch’s ownership of the New York Post and the tab’s frequent criticism of New York Mayor Bloomberg’s administration, the two were a cozy coalition in front of the same House Judiciary panel that last week hosted comedian Steven Colbert (who also testified on immigration issues, but a bit less seriously).

The media barons also announced a new joint initiative called Partnership for a New American Economy and website RenewOurEconomy.org that seeks to promote a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. alongside the securing of American borders and restrictions on business hiring of illegal workers. 

Bloomberg tweeted repeatedly on issues he raised before the committee, largely spelling out the ...

Obama now blames poor job numbers on congressional inaction. Wait! His party runs Congress

Just a few minor things to catch up on for the weekend now that the Fundraiser-in-Chief has gone on another vacation (Don't worry though. White House chef Sam Kass went along, so the first family need not eat ordinary human food.)

-- The Congressional Budget Office says the 2010 federal deficit will be in excess of $1.3 trillion, as in $1,000,000,000,000+. (BTW, the next level we'll be talking about out of Washington is quadrillion, which has fifteen 0's.)

-- Despite Vice President Joe Biden's April boast that administration stimulus spending would spur the economy to add a half-million jobs a month by now, initial unemployment claims jumped a half-million last week, the worst since last November, as national unemployment remains at 9.5% and the economy sheds 131,000 more jobs.

-- But the economy's going great at the Democratic National Committee, which reports collecting $11.5 million from donors in July on top of the $53.8 million already taken in from various sources this year. The president just devoted three workdays across five states to rake in several more millions for his party.

-- But before leaving for his ninth presidential vacation, 10 days at a....

Sunday shows: Palin, Pelosi, Kerry and Kyl

ABC: “This Week With Christiane Amanpour”: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco); Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Bloomberg: “Political Capital with Al Hunt”:  Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.).

CBS: “Face the Nation”: Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.); Richard Haass; Thomas Saenz.

CNN: “GPS with Fareed Zakaria”: Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S.

CNN: “State of the Union”: Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Fox: “Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace”: Sarah Palin, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).

NBC: “Meet the Press”: Admiral Mike Mullen, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa.). Doris Kearns Goodwin; Mark Halperin.


Why wait for Sunday? Click here for Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot or @craighowieLAT. Our Facebook Like page is over here. Also available on Kindle now with two-week free trial.

Photo: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) Credit: Getty Images.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on illegal-immigration bill: 'I will not back down'

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has formally appealed a federal judge’s decision to halt key portions of the state’s new immigration law. (See her statement on the appeal below.)

The appeal comes as protesters took to the streets of Phoenix on Thursday to protest the state's approach to illegal immigration and as Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio launched raids to arrest suspected illegal immigrants. An excerpt from the appeal:

The appeal involves an issue of significant importance -- the state of Arizona's right to implement a law its Legislature enacted to address the irreparable harm Arizona is suffering as a result of unchecked unlawful immigration.

Here is the text of the governor’s statement, as prepared by her office:

Today I filed an expedited appeal with the Ninth Circuit asking the court to lift the injunction put in place by Judge Bolton yesterday against certain provisions of SB 1070 and to allow those provisions to go into effect pending a decision on the merits of this case.

I have also asked the Ninth Circuit to expedite the briefing schedule and its ruling, since Congress and the President have once again failed to act.

The Notice of Appeal and Motion for Expedited Briefing and Hearing Schedule filed today asks the Ninth Circuit to establish a timeline that would have the State file a substantive brief on August 12, the United States file its response brief on August 26, and the State file its reply brief on September 2.

I have asked the Ninth Circuit to schedule oral arguments on the appeal the week of September 13 and to expedite its ruling.

America is not going to sit back and allow the ongoing federal failures to continue. We are a nation of laws and we believe they need to be enforced. If the federal government wants to be in charge of illegal immigration and they want no help from states, it then needs to do its job. Arizona would not be faced with this problem if the federal government honored its responsibilities.

Illegal immigration is an ongoing crisis the State of Arizona did not create and the federal government has refused to fix. SB 1070 protects all of us, every Arizona citizen and everyone here in our state lawfully. It ensures that the constitutional rights of ALL in Arizona are undiminished.

I believe Arizona, like America, is governed by laws – laws that confer respect and that demand respect in return. Our state taxpayers cannot sustain the outrageous costs of illegal immigration, and its continued erosion of our time-honored legal immigration traditions. As governor of the state of Arizona, I will honor my core principles and my sworn oath to protect the citizens of this great state and, therefore, I will not back down.

-- Steve Padilla

RELATED:

Social media wrap: Brewer, Issa, Thompson and others react to Arizona immigration law online [updated]

Questions and answers on SB 1070 -- a guide to Arizona's new immigration law

Recalling how a Supreme Court justice, when discussing illegal immigration, used an ethnic slur

You can get Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item, by clicking here. Follow us @latimestot. Or like our Facebook page right here. Go here for a Kindle subscription to The Ticket, with a free trial.

Photos: Top, Brewer in Tucson on Wednesday. Credit: Associated Press. Bottom: Arpaio in Phoenix on Thursday. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times.

Social media wrap: Brewer, Issa, Thompson and others react to Arizona immigration law [updated]

 

[Updated at 5:27 p.m.:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): my reaction to the court ruling on the #Arizona #immigration law http://tinyurl.com/2vs7q4g

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: According to the Supremacy Clause of our constitution, immigration is a federal issue. Today’s decision is the right one ... The court decision to enjoin the worst parts of AZ’s SB 1070 reaffirms Americans' most basic constitutional rights.

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.): Disappointed in this ruling today – our immigration laws need to be strengthened, not weakened. http://fb.me/uclMVqAp

Michigan Atty. Gen. Mike Cox: Today a fed judge enjoined AZ immigration law from taking effect. We will assist Gov Brewer's appeal to allow AZ to protects its citizens

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: This is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It's a government of the government, by the government and for the government.
 

 

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer: The fight is far from over. Arizona will prevail in its right to protect our citizens. Read my statement: http://bit.ly/btFPFS]

 

Questions and answers on SB 1070 -- a guide to Arizona's new immigration law

Along with the usual arguments for and against Arizona’s tough new immigration law, another theme emerged this week during a federal court hearing on the law’s fate: Some parts of the legislation are confusing.

An attorney representing Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer acknowledged as much under pointed questioning by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix on Thursday.

This sort of thing happens now and then with all kinds of legislation, of course. Fuzzy language, we mean.  Perhaps this partly explains why descriptions of the Arizona law occassionaly miss the mark. For example, SB 1070 is sometimes described as “allowing” police to ask suspected illegal immigrants about their status. Actually, police are already allowed to do that. SB 1070 makes such inquiries a requirement – but only, as the law says, when “practicable.”

Which brings us to a useful Q & A our colleague Nicholas Riccardi prepared on the law. Here’s an excerpt concerning the role of police and SB 1070:

What else must police do under the law?

Anyone arrested in Arizona cannot be released until police check with the federal government to determine whether that person is in the country legally.

Some read this to mean that it doesn't matter if suspects have birth certificates and passports — the federal government must confirm their status before they are freed. Others contend that the requirement only applies to suspected illegal immigrants.

Also, authorities must alert the federal government when any illegal immigrant convicted of a crime of any severity is released from custody or pays a fine to resolve a case.

Are police required to turn convicted illegal immigrants over to the federal government?

No, just to notify federal immigration agents.

Surprising, no? Follow this link to the entire Q & A to learn more about Arizona's immigration law.

Bolton is considering requests to halt the law before it takes effect July 29. It’s not clear when Bolton will rule on the lawsuits by civil rights groups and the Obama administration. Stay tuned.

-- Steve Padilla

Click here for Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot or @craighowieLAT. Our Facebook Like page is over here. Also available on Kindle now with two-week free trial.

Photo: Opponents of Arizona's immigration law gather outside the federal courthouse in Phoenix on Thursday. Credit: Reuters
 

Illegal immigrants get only 12 days' notice to cross before Obama's 1,200 troops arrive on Mexico border

The Obama administration announced Monday that illegal immigrants from Mexico have until Aug. 1 to make it across the U.S. border before it gets really serious about border security with the deployment of 1,200 additional National Guardsmen there. 

Arizona Gov., Jan Brewer, who has complained along with the state legislature about inadequate federal security efforts on the border with Mexico, promptly responded by announcing $10 million in new grants to help local and state law enforcement agencies provide border security and combat illegal immigrants and associated crime.

She said:

    I reject the Obama administration’s notion that Arizona’s border security is better than ever. Since the federal government continues to announce inadequate plans, and place new warning signs on federal lands in Arizona, we are forced to do what we can locally to act on safety and security until the Congress and the Administration act.

   I have chosen to allocate nearly $10 million of my discretionary federal stimulus funds to support law enforcement officials who deal with the ramifications of illegal activity along the border on a daily basis.

The Aug. 1 troop deployment, announced weeks ago and being implemented next month to supplement previous border efforts, comes just three days after Arizona's tough new illegal immigrant enforcement is scheduled to take effect. The ACLU, Obama administration and government of Mexico, among others, are challenging the law in federal courts, seeking an injunction to halt the July 29 implementation, called S.B. 1070.

The Department of Homeland Security said the additional troops would be deployed for one year to support surveillance and efforts to combat international drug trafficking along the border.

It said 524 troops would go to Arizona, 224 to California, 250 to Texas, 72 to New Mexico and 130 somewhere else in command support roles. The troops set for Arizona equal almost two per mile of state border with Mexico.

Claiming "a sense of unprecedented urgency," the DHS statement quoted Secy. Janet Napolitano as saying:

   Over the past year and a half, this administration has pursued a new border security strategy with an unprecedented sense of urgency, making historic investments in personnel, technology and infrastructure. These troops will provide direct support to federal law enforcement officers and agents working in high-risk areas to disrupt criminal organizations seeking to move people and goods illegally across the Southwest border.

Here is the full text of a separate response by Gov. Brewer:

Part of my rationale for signing S.B. 1070 was to get the federal government to do its job and secure the border.  Despite the mantra by the Obama administration that the border is “as secure as ever,” in Arizona both Republicans and Democrats recognize they have failed. Their failure to date is borne out by today’s announcement of more federal resources. 

While the announcement of more resources is welcomed, it does not appear to be enough, or tied to a strategy to comprehensively defeat the increasingly violent drug and alien smuggling cartels that operate in Arizona on a daily basis.  We need the implementation of a federal plan to achieve victory over these brutal cartels and the porous nature of our open border.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Anyone can get Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item, by clicking here. Follow us @latimestot Or Like our Facebook page right here. Go here for a Kindle subscription to The Ticket, with a free trial.

Photos: Associated Press

Sunday shows: Biden, Pence, Clyburn, Cornyn, Hoyer

ABC: "This Week" with Jake Tapper: Vice President Joe Biden with George Will, Nicole Wallace, Dee Dee Myers and Clarence Page.

Bloomberg: "Political Capitol" with Al Hunt: Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass).

CBS: "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer: Ex-Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), "tea party" co-founder David Webb and the NAACP's Ben Jealous.

CNN: "GPS" with Fareed Zakaria: Jeffrey Gettleman, professor Ken Menkhaus, Anne McElvoy, Daniel Finkelstein, Polly Toynbee and Martin Wolf.

CNN: "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.)

Fox: "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace: Reps. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) with Brit Hume, Bill Kristol, Juan Williams and Nina Easton.

NBC: "Meet the Press" with David Gregory: Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

-- Andrew Malcolm

Why wait until Sunday for politics? Click here for Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot.  Our Facebook Like page is over here. And, btw, we're available on Kindle now with a free two-week trial.

Photo: Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama. Credit: Pete Souza / White House