President, I rise in opposition to the nomination
of Kirstjen Nielsen to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. While I
believe that Ms. Nielsen has a solid understanding of the Department
that she seeks to lead, I am not yet convinced that she will be a
counterweight to the rabid anti-immigration policies coming out of the
White House. I appreciated the opportunity to speak to Ms. Nielsen prior to the
vote about my concern over the status of the Dreamers and temporary
protected status, TPS, recipients. Dreamers were brought to this
country through no fault of their own and are in limbo after the
President abruptly canceled DACA and set arbitrary renewal and
termination deadlines. TPS recipients, many of whom have been here for
almost two decades, would have their lives endangered if forced to
return to their home countries. While I understand that Ms. Nielsen cannot make ironclad commitments
on how she would handle these issues, I could not in good faith support
her nomination without clearer guidance and assurances about how she
and the administration intend to resolve these matters. Many of my
colleagues who supported her predecessor, General Kelly, have
complained bitterly that promises he made to them have not been kept. Moreover, both as General Kelly's chief of staff at DHS and later as
his deputy at the White House, I have to assume the Ms. Nielsen has
been very involved in the development and implementation of the
immigration policies of this administration. My vote yesterday was not
so much a vote against Ms. Nielsen, as it was a vote to protest the
anti-immigration policies flowing from the Trump administration. I am hopeful that, in the coming months, Ms. Nielsen will be able to
provide a check on the worst impulses of this White House.
Keywords matched
immigration DACA anti-immigration temporary
protected status TPS