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Ranking Member Nadler Opening Statement for Hearing with DHS Secretary Nielsen

Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, delivered the following opening remarks during the Committee’s oversight hearing with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the first such hearing with DHS since 2015: 

"Secretary Nielsen, I am glad to see you before our Committee.  I am disappointed, however, that it has taken so long to schedule this oversight hearing.  You have been in this job for just over a year, and yet this is the first time you are appearing before us.  And your predecessor, General Kelly, never appeared at all during his tenure as Homeland Security Secretary before becoming White House Chief of Staff.

"Much of the Department of Homeland Security’s operations fall squarely within this Committee’s jurisdiction, and this Administration has engaged in a wide-range of dramatic policy changes, yet the Committee has failed to conduct any meaningful oversight until now.  Moreover, Members of this Committee have written dozens of letters to you, many of which have received little or no substantive response.

"As we move into the next Congress, I want to put you and your department on notice: The time for accountability has arrived.  The Members of this Committee have a responsibility to ask hard questions of any Administration, and to ensure that federal agencies are acting in accordance with the law, and in the best interest of the American people.

"That job begins today.

"Foremost on our minds is the tragic death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin while in DHS custody.  It is important that we understand exactly what led to Jakelin’s death, and what steps DHS is taking to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring.  The fact that CBP does not conduct a full medical examination of people it holds in its custody is outrageous and is a policy that should be changed today.  But, more broadly, this heartbreaking case also highlights the failure of the Trump Administration’s haphazard and chaotic immigration policies.

"For example, although the law expressly allows individuals to request asylum, regardless of the manner of entry, this Administration has repeatedly implored asylum seekers to come to ports of entry.  At the same time, DHS turns away those who do come to those ports, forcing them to wait for weeks, or months, before actually being able to file an asylum application.

"These conflicting messages create mass confusion and actually drive migrants to use dangerous routes.  In September, the Department’s own Inspector General issued a report describing the impact of DHS’s policies.  The IG found evidence that the practice of turning away asylum seekers and “limiting the volume of asylum-seekers entering at ports of entry” may have increased illegal crossing attempts.  One asylum seeker “had been turned away three times by an officer on the bridge before deciding to take her chances on illegal entry.”

"In other words, the Administration’s dangerous and chaotic policies have caused desperate people to use desperate means to find protection for themselves and for their children.  This has likely cost at least one life already, and it will likely cost many more unless we return to a more rational policy.

"We must also conduct much-needed and long-overdue oversight over your Department’s disastrous family separation policy.  At its most basic level, we have three simple questions: What made you think that seizing children from the arms of their parents was acceptable?  Under what authority and under whose direction was this done?  And now, what are you doing to repair the untold damage the Department has inflicted on these children and their families?

"Not only was the policy abhorrent and morally repugnant, it is clear that the Department was either incompetent, or grossly negligent, in its implementation, which only compounded the trauma inflicted on innocent children.

"For example, DHS failed to keep sufficient records that would enable the eventual reunification of separated children with their parents.  Again, this is the conclusion of the Department’s own Inspector General. 

"Among other things, the IG found that DHS "struggled to identify, track, and reunite families," that your agency caused confusion by providing “inconsistent information” to separated families, and that the Department  "was not fully prepared to implement the Administration’s Zero Tolerance Policy or to deal with some of its after effects."  

"The fact that this was handled so poorly—and that some separated children have yet to be reunited with their parents—is unacceptable.  We recently learned that DHS piloted a family separation policy in El Paso months earlier.  The fact that these issues were not identified at the time—or that they were willfully ignored—demonstrates a callousness, and an indifference to human suffering, that is simply appalling.  It is past time for a full accounting of this shameful policy.

"We must also look at the Administration’s enforcement priorities, or lack thereof.  Rather than prioritize for removal those who threaten public safety, as was done by past administrations, this Administration has effectively chosen to prioritize everyone—and thus, no one.  Particularly egregious are the policy changes targeting women, children, and families.  DHS has, for example, ended the presumption to release pregnant women from detention, and it seeks to indefinitely detain families by overturning the Flores Settlement Agreement through rulemaking.

"All of this is being done despite the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians have concluded that "[t]he conditions in DHS facilities are not appropriate for pregnant women or children."  

"Not content to attack and dehumanize those who seek asylum in our country—a right guaranteed by our laws—this Administration is also attacking legal immigration.  It is hell-bent on stripping DACA recipients of their work permits, ending TPS protections for thousands of immigrants who have been here legally for decades, and even rescinding work authorization for the spouses of H-1B workers who have been approved for immigrant visas.

"DHS also has proposed to dramatically reinterpret the “public charge” ground of inadmissibility, which would effectively penalize individuals for receiving supplemental public benefits to which they are legally entitled.  As DHS’s own analysis found, it may make America sicker and poorer, and it will have a profound negative impact on the health, safety, and economic well-being of communities across America.   As I stated in a comment submitted on this rule with 110 of my colleagues, the rule is an unlawful and dangerous attempt by the Administration to circumvent Congress and to reduce legal immigration.  

"The Administration has been clear in its desire to cut legal immigration, especially for the family members of U.S. citizens.  The President, for example, has repeatedly pushed the RAISE Act, which would cut legal immigration in half.  After failing to get that bill through Congress, the Administration is now seeking to accomplish its goals by creating obstacles for individuals legally seeking to come to this country.

"The Trump Administration—including DHS, under your watch—has launched a relentless attack against immigrants of all stripes.  Although your Department has evaded meaningful oversight up until now, you can be sure that, beginning in January, this Committee intends to do its job, in a fair, but firm, manner. The time for zero accountability is over, and we are determined to ensure that the Department’s policies and practices are aligned with the laws and values of the nation.

"Thank you again, Secretary Nielsen, for appearing before the Committee today.  I look forward to a substantive dialogue with you on these critical matters, and I yield back the remainder of my time."

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