“System-Wide Meltdown:” Nielsen Pushes For Vast Authority to Deport Migrant Children

Vigorous oversight needed to reign in Nielsen’s cruelty and incompetence

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen today asked Congress for new authority to deport unaccompanied migrant children more quickly and to hold families seeking asylum in detention for longer than currently permitted, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

“This is an extremely troubling development. Secretary Nielsen’s shameful tenure at the helm of DHS warrants more oversight, not more unchecked power,” said Karl Frisch, a spokesperson for Restore Public Trust. “The ‘system-wide meltdown’ Nielsen describes is a direct result of the Trump administration’s disastrous and cruel ‘zero tolerance’ policy. In the past year, Nielsen has been unwilling or unable to come up with effective and humane solutions. Her cruelty and incompetence is a disgrace.

Despite Sec. Nielsen’s claim that her “greatest concern was for the children,” she wants more money for detention beds and the ability to hold families in detention longer than currently permitted. The request also follows Nielsen’s apparent effort to mislead the American public.

In Congressional testimony earlier this month, she dodged basic questions on the Trump administration’s horrific family separation policy and feigned ignorance on basic information. Under questioning from Democratic committee members, many of whom stated that they had simple requests for information ignored in recent months, Sec. Nielsen was defiant and took great pains to defend the indefensible.

Earlier this year, Restore Public Trust launched a campaign to hold accountable the agencies, companies, and individuals who are responsible for developing, implementing, and/or defending the policy. RPT will also drive accountability campaigns against lawmakers in their home states and target corporations who are benefiting from the policy. They will also encourage companies to avoid hiring or working with any Trump administration officials who were involved in developing, implementing, or defending the family separation policy.

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