Former Homeland Security Head Janet Napolitano Tells Jorge Ramos That Criticisms Of Undocumented Protestors Are ‘Inaccurate’

In an interview with Jorge Ramos aired on Fusion on Thursday night, the former secretary of Homeland Security and newly minted president of the University of California, Janet Napolitano, responded to the criticisms of undocumented student protestors who say that the duties of her current position contradict those of her former position with the DHS. "Well, I think if you look at the overall track record, that's inaccurate," she told Ramos, who had prodded her on the question. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a link to a clip from the Fusion interview.

"Many protesters, they think it's hypocritical that now you are trying to help some students and just a few months ago, you were deporting exactly the same kind of people that right now you are supposed to help," Ramos told the former Homeland Security head, who announced her resignation from the position in July. That's the law, and I took an oath to enforce the law," she said. "And we did it in a way, and did the most we could, to enforce the law, while trying to reform it at the same time."

"Would you rather I not try to help undocumented students? Again, I took an oath to enforce the law, I did it in the best way I could. That was the job I undertook. I also took an oath to help people become citizens, which I also did." Napolitano also told Ramos that her administration was deporting fewer non-criminals after having, "to the greatest extent we could, reformed that enforcement to focus on people who had serious criminal records, those who were frequent violators, those who they got right at the border before they got into the United States". Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say that 55 percent of those deported in 2012 were "convicted criminals", as opposed to 33 percent in 2008. "It's hard to change the steering of these large ships overnight," she said. "I think the bigger question, however, right now, is when will Congress reform the underlying law."

Since taking over as president of the University of California in October, Napolitano has said she plans to spend some $15 million to recruit more graduate students, hire more postdoctoral students for the faculty, and help students who were brought to the country illegally as children by their parents. Some students have struck back against her appointment. According to the SF Gate, at one protest, David Douglas, a UC Berkeley student and organizer with the civil rights coalition By Any Means Necessary, shouted, "She has no legitimacy! It's an insult that this board would appoint a top cop!" in remarks which echoed those of several others.