This story was reported for San Diego News Network on April 15, 2009.
A controversial San Diego figure has been named “border czar.”
Alan Bersin, chairman of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has been appointed by the Obama administration to oversee drug-cartel and violence-related issues along the U.S.-Mexico border. The announcement was made on Wednesday in El Paso, Texas.
The appointment comes at a time when the region has seen a rise in drug-related violence and illegal immigration to the U.S. However, around Bersin’s home, locals are already commenting on what the appointment means for Americans and specifically, for those living near the border.
“I find him to be very competent and capable of this position,” said president of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce Ben Haddad, who has known Bersin since the Clinton years.
Bersin served as a U.S. attorney during the Clinton administration in 1995 to 1998, then flipped his career and became a San Diego Unified School District superintendent in 1998. After several years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him as California’s education secretary in 2005. Bersin joined Airport Authority a year later.
Along his journey, Bersin made a number of friends, and possibly, even more foes.
During his time with the Clinton Administration, Bersin implemented Operation Gatekeeper — an increase in border enforcement that attracted much criticism, including from San Diegan Herman Baca of the Committee on Chicano Rights.
The operation cost the U.S. roughly $800 million dollars and doubled the amount of border patrol agents and fences.
“Operation Gatekeeper was a massive failure and if Bersin is going to be the border czar, that will be a massive failure,” Baca said.
Baca added that he felt the appointment of Bersin was a “slap in the face by the Obama administration against the fastest growing ethnic population.”
However, former boss — Schwarzenegger — said Bersin was most qualified.
“President Obama could not have selected a more qualified, more experienced person to join his administration – especially when it comes to issues along our southwest border,” Schwarzenegger said Tuesday night in a statement.
Haddad also said his role with the Clinton administration makes him the most qualified candidate for the position. And, he didn’t understand why Bersin would have critics.
“He had critics when he was superintendent and those people may carry over those feelings and think he doesn’t qualify for anything,” Haddad said.
Although Bersin’s past performance is being questioned by many, some are simply wondering if a border czar is necessary.
John Fanestil said he sees the Obama administration taking the same route as his predecessor. Fanestil serves as the executive director of the Foundation 4 Change, an organization which supports “social justice in the San Diego-Tijuana region.”
He said the idea of a border czar seems to be defined as someone who solely focuses on the violence in the border region, when other issues are just as prominent.
“I’m not saying violence and security issues aren’t important, they are,” Fanestil said. “But there are other important issues that need to be addressed.”
Issues such as: commerce, labor, family and promoting cultural encounters.
“There are people with real needs and real concerns that are far broader than the folks who make the border policies [know of],” he said.
The Obama administration has promised to crack down on border violence and work with Mexican authorities to curb drugs and arms trafficking. Hundreds of federal agents, along with high-tech surveillance gear and drug-sniffing dogs, are being deployed to the Southwest.
Two weeks ago, Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to San Diego, Mexico and Laredo, Texas, to meet with officials about border enforcement and curbing violence spurred by warring Mexican drug cartels. Last year, customs officials apprehended 792,321 people who tried to get into the U.S. through the Southwest border, and immigration officials removed more than 369,000, according to Homeland Security statistics.
Alan Bersin did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.
Associated Press contributed to this report. Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.