Related articles:

Arizona governor critical of federal border policy Governor: Return Guard troops to border Nation's gain would be a loss for Arizona Ariz. GOP would gain if Napolitano gets Obama postNapolitano downplaying Homeland Security talkNapolitano: Send Guard back to the border Congratulations to our capable governor Obama's choice of Napolitano sets course for political shift in Arizona

Health Care
Dependable Health Services
Physical Therapists Health Care
CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps

If Gov. Janet Napolitano actually becomes secretary of homeland security, she would take charge of an agency whose operations she has repeatedly criticized.

Napolitano insisted on numerous occasions that the agency — and its subsidiaries including Customs and Border Protection — have not done an adequate job of securing the international border. As her frustration mounted, she sometimes took state action to fill the gap.

And she has not been shy about expressing her opinions about border and immigration issues. Here are some highlights:

September — When asked in an Arizona Daily Star candidate questionnaire what the state can do about illegal immigration, she answers: "Increased technology along the border is the key, and I would begin by calling on the federal government to supply additional Border Patrol resources and adequate equipment to apprehend anyone entering the country illegally." She also called for Congress to reimburse border communities for the economic impact of illegal immigration.

Aug. 22 — Now-Gov. Napolitano wants Arizona to become a test site for an experimental guest-worker program — a program that was never carried out.

Aug. 15 — Napolitano declares an emergency along Arizona's border with Mexico, making up to $1.5 million available to the four border counties of Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz and Yuma. She says the state was forced to act because the federal government failed to secure the border. "We just couldn't keep waiting," she says.

Jan. 9 — Napolitano calls for National Guard troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Four months later, President Bush pledges to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the border.

April 15 — Napolitano vetoes legislation that would have empowered police to arrest anyone not in this country legally for trespassing, no matter where they are.

June 6 — Napolitano vetoes what sponsors labeled a comprehensive border-security and immigration measure, calling it "weak and ineffective" and saying it would have provided amnesty to companies that hire illegal entrants. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, calls Napolitano "the best friend illegal aliens have."

Oct. 4 — Napolitano is there in Phoenix when President Bush signs a bill providing $1.2 billion to fund 700 miles of fencing and barriers along the border, plus money for jails to detain illegal entrants and hire 1,500 more border agents. She says: "Congress is not done yet. They need to pass comprehensive immigration reform. … They can't just pass this bill and think their job is over. It's not. But it's a good start."

February — The Arizona Department of Public Safety forms a new task force, at Napolitano's direction, to help border law-enforcement agencies crack down on gang- and immigration-related crimes.

Feb. 27 — In a speech to the National Press Club, the governor says foreigners who have degrees in special fields — such as scientists and engineers — should be automatically entitled to come work in the United States regardless of existing federal visa restrictions.

March 12 — Napolitano sends a letter to President Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderón seeking policy changes. She wants Bush to implement an immigration system "that is economically realistic, flexible and innovative." She asks Calderón to promise to modernize the economy of his country "and end the practice of using the United States labor market as a safety valve."

May 16 — Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson send President Bush a letter accusing the federal government of doing little to find a permanent solution to immigration problems and recurring violence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

May 24 — Napolitano accuses the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection of "siphoning Border Patrol agents from their critical domestic security mission" by recruiting agents to go to Iraq.

July 2 — Napolitano signs a state employer-sanctions law creating some of the toughest penalties in the country for companies that hire illegal immigrants. "You can't deal with immigration simply by border walls and border security measures," she says. "You must deal with the underlying labor migration."

Aug. 24 — Napolitano agrees to have Arizona create a new driver's license that can be used for everything from international travel to getting a job, making Arizona the third state to have a document the U.S. Department of Homeland Security considers secure.

Sept. 28 — At U.S.-Mexico border governors' conference, Napolitano complains that delays have created a "parking lot" at many border crossings, and border states want more than promises of action. "Our federal governments can no longer satisfy us simply by coming to a meeting and giving a speech," she says.

Jan. 16 — Napolitano criticizes construction of a fence along Arizona's border with Mexico, saying, "This notion you're going to solve immigration by building a wall is false."

March — Napolitano asks Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff to delay the pullout of National Guard troops from the border due to the flaws in a new "virtual fence." He refuses and the troops are gone by August.

April 29 — Napolitano vetoes legislation to require police departments and sheriff's deputies to do more to crack down on illegal immigration, saying local police agencies already have those abilities without state action.

— Brady McCombs and Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services