Arizona Sheriff Says Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano Is 'Divorced From Reality'

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, delivering her first State of Homeland Security address last Thursday, gave an upbeat account of her agency’s accomplishments, including its efforts on immigration and securing the U.S. border.

But Arizona's Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu -- named Sheriff of the Year last week by the National Sheriff's Association -- said Napolitano’s speech was selective in what it emphasized and what it did not disclose.

“2010 was a historic year when it comes to securing and managing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws,” Napolitano said. “There are now more resources on the southwest border in terms of personnel, technology, and infrastructure than ever before in American history. And we continue to see progress on every metric.”

Babeu said Napolitano’s claim was “not surprising.” But he also said her remarks did not reflect conditions on the ground in Arizona, where in the last two years the amount of illegal drugs entering the state that have been confiscated by local authorities has doubled, and the number of pursuits of criminal illegal aliens has tripled.

“Why isn’t the secretary of Homeland Security speaking to these threats?” Babeu asked in a telephone interview with CNSNews.com. “Why does she keep trying to convince us through argument that everything is just fine to the point that she’s trying to hypnotize us into believing this crap.”

Babeu, who is the first Arizona sheriff and the first sheriff in his first elected term to be named Sheriff of the Year, said Napolitano’s assessment reveals that she is out of touch with what the conditions are on what he calls “the front line” fight against illegal immigration.

“This shows you how divorced from reality the secretary of homeland security really is,” Babeu said.

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