Washington, D.C. –Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the closure of the San Ysidro Port of Entry: 

"Yesterday’s incident at our southern border is not a surprise, and this Administration’s shoot-from-the-hip border policies have only complicated the situation. 

"First there was President Trump’s disastrous family separation policy.  Then at the same time that they told desperate asylum seekers to apply at the ports, they began turning away asylum seekers at those ports.  Our laws allow asylum seekers to apply for asylum at our southern border, but there is really no clear policy on how to do that.  And that kind of confusion inevitably leads to desperate incidents like those we saw yesterday. 

"The chaos at the border is a direct result of President Trump's lack of leadership.  Rather than shutting down our ports and threatening women and children with tear gas and deadly force, President Trump should join Congress in reforming our immigration system."