Immigration Reform 2014: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson Endorses ‘Earned Path To Citizenship’ For Undocumented

The Associated Press reports that in a speech on Friday at the US Conference of Mayors, DHS head Jeh Johnson endorsed an “earned path to citizenship” for many of the nation’s 11.7 million undocumented immigrants. The speech marks the first time Johnson has made public declarations on the issue since his confirmation as the new secretary of Homeland Security in December, which six Senate Republicans had sought to delay until he had made his opinions on dozens of immigration-related questions known.

In their November letter, the senators asked Johnson to expound upon his earlier support for “comprehensive, common sense immigration reform,” including whether “people here illegally [should] be eligible for immigration benefits, including legal status.” On Friday, Johnson called it “a matter of homeland security to encourage people to come out from the shadows,” adding that it was “a matter of who we are as Americans to offer the opportunity to those who want to be citizens, who’ve earned the right to be citizens, who are present in this country -- many of whom came here as children -- to have the opportunity that we all have to try to become American citizens,” according to Fox News.

Days after Johnson made his comments before some 270 mayors (the conference convenes mayors from American cities with populations exceeding 30,000), the DHS head took a two-day visit of a swath of the southwestern border starting from McAllen, Texas, and ending in Tucson, Ariz. A former top lawyer in the Department of Defense who was often called “Obama’s man” in the department due to the similarities in their views, Johnson was considered by many an odd pick for the DHS job due to his lack of experience in immigration policy.