WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/18/18]–Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to resign amid families being cruelly separated at the border, which is a policy Sec. Nielsen oversees in her leadership role within the Trump Administration.
This statement originally appeared on Sen. Tina Smith’s official Senate Facebook page.
“’I expect to be held accountable…’
“That’s what Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Senators during her confirmation hearing in November.
“I agree. As a Senator, I take holding this administration accountable very seriously. I believe Secretary Nielsen has lost the credibility to lead DHS, and that she needs to step down.
“Some 2,300 children were separated from their parents at the border between May 5 and June 9.
“That is plainly wrong. It runs counter to who we are as a country. And despite what Secretary Nielsen claims, this is a policy of this administration, which has repeatedly and publicly said they would implement it, calling it a ‘zero tolerance’ policy—a policy Secretary Nielsen is responsible for overseeing.
“But she’s denied that this is happening at all, and then said that she ‘wouldn’t apologize’ for what’s happening to families.
“Kirstjen Nielsen has lost the credibility and the moral authority to lead this agency.”
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