But General Kelly is nominated to a far different post than those he
occupied during his distinguished military career. The Department of
Homeland Security--a civilian agency within our government--is charged
with a far-reaching mission. From protecting national security to
implementing immigration policies, from our emergency response to
domestic crises, to assisting in the unending fight against drugs in
our communities that today features opioids and heroin as its most
prevalent threat, the Department of Homeland Security faces challenges
as unique as they are numerous. While I am confident that General Kelly
is well equipped to exert leadership on many of these challenges, his
nomination has also raised concerns. As we look ahead to the policies and practices this new
administration will seek to implement, we cannot forget the work left
unfinished in the Obama administration due to the obstruction of
congressional Republicans. In 2013, after a strong bipartisan vote in
the Senate, truly comprehensive immigration reform legislation was sent
to the House of Representatives, where Republican leaders there refused
to even bring it to a vote. That legislation addressed a litany of
issues facing our broken immigration system, from securing our borders
to reforming visa programs, from bringing the undocumented out of the
shadows to reuniting families. After House Republicans failed to bring that bill to a vote,
President Obama took executive action to expand the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals, DACA, and establish the Deferred Action for Parents
of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, DAPA, programs. These
actions would have offered a reprieve for young people and parents so
that they could remain in the country, with their families, and without
fear of deportation. It is fundamentally unfair for the new
administration to revoke a policy designed to bring vulnerable
immigrants out of the shadows and then to use information gained from
that policy to punish them. I was disheartened when a Federal court issued an injunction
preventing implementation of these policies. I was more disheartened
when the Supreme Court was unable to resolve this court challenge,
again, due to obstruction from congressional Republicans in the
consideration of President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court.
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