BLITZER: Democrats say this could be a first step toward comprehensive immigration reform. The president signed a $600 million bill today to send more agents, more equipment to the border with Mexico. The Senate passed it in a special session this week. Some Republicans say the bill doesn't go far enough, and they accuse Democrats of passing it for political gain in this election year. Joining us now from the White House, the homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano.

Madame Secretary, thanks very much for coming in.

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: You bet.

BLITZER: What's taking so long to secure the border with Mexico?

NAPOLITANO: Well, actually, the border is safe and secure in the sense of every statistic that needs to go up is going up and every statistic that needs to go down is going down. The number of illegal immigrants crossing the border is way down. The number of drug seizures, gun seizures, money seizures, is way up.

We want to continue to do even more and that's what this bill permits us to do. It allows us to hire at least a thousand more Border Patrol agents, to add more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, two more unmanned aerial vehicle systems, more telecommunications, the entire system that needs to be in place to make sure that the border remains safe and secure all the way across, from San Diego all the way to Brownsville.

BLITZER: And you're a former governor of Arizona, so you're familiar with the subject. But you acknowledge there's still plenty of illegal immigrants crossing in from Mexico into the United States?

NAPOLITANO: Well, we always want to do more. I'm not only the former governor, I'm the former attorney general and United States attorney for Arizona. So I've been working this border for about 17 years now.

And I know that what we are doing at the border, what the president asked the Congress to pass and what they passed will give us the resources we need on a sustained and permanent basis to close gaps in that border and to keep it safe and secure.

BLITZER: Now your critics are saying what you've done now in this $600 million program is largely reacting to your successor, the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer -- and that controversial new immigration law that went into effect but now is on hold, at least some of the more controversial parts. That you're simply reacting to the political uproar rather than taking the initiative.

NAPOLITANO: Well, I would say look at history. We actually began surging federal resources to the Mexican border in March of 2009, well before 1070 became law, well before this issue became national in scope.

I knew as a former governor of Arizona that we needed to make sure that we kept that southwest border safe and secure and that it would require some new initiatives and some new targeting and focus in order to do so.

So we began many of these efforts and began putting record amounts of agents, technology, and infrastructure at that border way back in March of '09. BLITZER: When will the Obama administration introduce legislation for comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants?

NAPOLITANO: Well, first of all, I think -- I don't think pathway to citizenship quite captures what the president has supported, and it's a framework that was announced by senators Schumer and Graham this spring.

It's earning citizenship -- citizenship should be earned. It should be something that you earn by getting right with the law, learning English, making sure you pay your taxes, staying free or not having any criminal record. That you earn citizenship. The president has supported that framework but as you know he cannot, himself, introduce a bill or pass a bill. That requires Congress and in particular it requires Republicans.

BLITZER: When do you think the Congress will do this?

NAPOLITANO: You know, I think we're ready any day but it is up to the Congress and as you, yourself, I think have noted, you know, we're now getting into the election season and that obviously plays a part. But the president continues to urge the Congress to deal with the underlying immigration system. The country needs to move forward to get through with this -- to move forward on this issue, into the 21st century, have an immigration system that really works.

BLITZER: The Pew Hispanic Center recently estimated some 340,000 babies born in the United States in 2008 were from illegal immigrants. That's about 8 percent of all the new children born in the United States in that year. It's raising questions about the 14th amendment to the constitution. Do you think we should take another look at that amendment which grants citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States including children of illegal immigrants?

NAPOLITANO: No. I think it is surprising to say the least to talk about opening or tampering with the United States constitution and the 14th amendment which guarantees equal protection and due process among other things. Instead of dealing with what Congress can deal with and should deal with right now and that is updating, reforming, revising the entire statutory scheme that governs immigration.

BLITZER: I want you to react to what a Republican Congressman from Texas is saying, suggesting that there is a plot that terrorists want children born in the United States so some day they can come back and kill Americans. Listen to what this Republican Congressman says.

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R), TEXAS: It appeared they would have young women who became pregnant, would get them into the United States to have a baby. They wouldn't even have to pay anything for the baby. And then they would return back where they could be raised and coddled as future terrorists and then one day 20, 30 years down the road be sent in to help destroy our way of life.

BLITZER: You're the secretary of homeland security. Do you have any evidence of what he's talking about?

NAPOLITANO: No. No. And I think that it's, you know, that is so off the mark. Where we need to be is a safe and secure border, and this president has put really unprecedented amounts of resources at this border. And has done so since almost the day he took office. We've been moving agents, materiel, aircraft, and other things to the border. Even more now is coming and being made permanent by the bill he just signed. But beyond that, the overall immigration system needs to be dealt with by the Congress, by Republicans coming to the table and let's work our way through this problem.

BLITZER: One final question on this proposed Islamic center and mosque that's supposed to go up near the world trade center ground zero. Is there any security concerns that you as homeland security secretary have with this mosque going up there?

NAPOLITANO: No security concerns whatsoever have been presented to me.

BLITZER: Madame Secretary, thanks very much for joining us.

NAPOLITANO: Thank you.