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SCREEN CAPTURE / CSPAN
Sen. Kamala Harris grills the Secretary of Homeland Security. |
THE TWO Asian/American senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing came down hard on the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen over the vulgar comments made by Donald Trump against Haiti and African nations at the Jan. 16 hearing on immigration and the future of the DACA program.
“I believe that the words spoken by any President of these United States are powerful words and should be spoken with the spirit of unifying and not dividing our country,” Harris said. “Should be spoken in a way that brings dignity to other human beings and does not demean them. I am deeply concerned when we are just having celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, who spoke about the effect of racism in this country, and words that are motivated by racism.”
Harris also raised concerns over Nielsen’s decision to willfully leave out a mention of domestic terrorist attacks by white supremacists during Nielsen’s opening statement about security threats facing the United States.
“Mr. Chairman, I would just ask that the record — so we can all review it — will reflect that in the opening statements when discussing challenges to our homeland in terms of security, the white supremacist threat was not mentioned,” Harris said.
Harris, a former prosecutor, also questioned Nielsen on the Department’s immigration enforcement priorities and her ability to manage this critical department.
The former attorney general for California, pressed Nielsen on whether she had made clear to department employees, as she said Nielsen had committed to do, that information of DACA recipients would not be shared for enforcement purposes.
Nielsen said that policy already existed and that she'd discussed it in multiple meetings.
"So you've not done that. That's the short answer," Harris said, after asking if Nielsen had issued a written directive to make the policy clear.
"Why would I do it again? It already exists," Nielsen replied.Following an exchange between Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Nielsen where Nielsen failed to acknowledge Norway’s primarily white population, Harris questioned Nielsen’s ability to serve as Secretary of DHS.
“You run the Department of Homeland Security,” Harris continued, “and when you say you don’t know if Norway is predominantly white when asked by a member of the United States Senate, that causes me concern about your ability to understand the scope of your responsibilities and the impact of your words — much less the policies that you promulgate in that very important department.”
During the hearing, Harris also highlighted the case of Luis Mora, a University of California, Berkeley student who was recently apprehended by immigration officials and continues to be detained by ICE. Although the Administration has stated that it prioritizes criminals who pose public safety threats, recent enforcement data shows that non-criminal arrests have risen dramatically.
“He came to this country as a child, he is a political science major, he volunteers at his church,” Harris said. “He was the winner of the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Young Latino Champion Award, and today is the first day of instruction at UC Berkeley for their spring semester and instead of being in class, he is in ICE custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
"Madame Secretary, I would ask you to consider the previous comments you have made to a committee about your priorities regarding enforcement, take a look at this case, and determine whether he in fact fits what you have indicated before to be your priorities because if you stand by your previous testimony, he does not.”
Harris previously questioned Nielsen at her confirmation hearing in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where Nielsen committed to issuing written directives to immigration officials stating that DACA recipients and Dreamers are not enforcement priorities. At the hearing, Nielsen acknowledged she has not issued that guidance.
Hirono questioned the secretary about the 15,000 DACA enroleees who were not able to reapply because of the program's end.
Nielsen didn't have an answer for her but she promised to look into the matter.
Hirono took another tact when it was her turn to question the secretary.
Following Saturday’s false emergency threat alert, the Hawaii senator secured a commitment from Nielsen to improve communication between the federal government and states on emergency alerts, including verification of the information contained in alerts.
In response to Hirono’s inquiry, Nielsen clarified that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has contacted the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) to provide assistance in HI-EMA’s investigation, and clarified that states do not need permission from FEMA to cancel false alerts.
“Saturday’s false emergency alert about a ballistic missile threat to Hawaii induced fear and panic throughout the islands. The threat was false, but the panic was real. People are upset and demanding answers, and so am I,” said Hirono.
Harris previously questioned Nielsen at her confirmation hearing in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where Nielsen committed to issuing written directives to immigration officials stating that DACA recipients and Dreamers are not enforcement priorities. At the hearing, Nielsen acknowledged she has not issued that guidance.
Hirono questioned the secretary about the 15,000 DACA enroleees who were not able to reapply because of the program's end.
Nielsen didn't have an answer for her but she promised to look into the matter.
Hirono took another tact when it was her turn to question the secretary.
Following Saturday’s false emergency threat alert, the Hawaii senator secured a commitment from Nielsen to improve communication between the federal government and states on emergency alerts, including verification of the information contained in alerts.
In response to Hirono’s inquiry, Nielsen clarified that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has contacted the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) to provide assistance in HI-EMA’s investigation, and clarified that states do not need permission from FEMA to cancel false alerts.
“Saturday’s false emergency alert about a ballistic missile threat to Hawaii induced fear and panic throughout the islands. The threat was false, but the panic was real. People are upset and demanding answers, and so am I,” said Hirono.
“I secured a commitment from Secretary Nielsen to strengthen federal-state cooperation on emergency alerts, assess potential human and systemic failures, and improve overall readiness in Hawaii and across our country. I will continue to pursue all avenues of investigation to learn what happened on Saturday and keep it from happening again.”_____________________________________________________________________________
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