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U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Homeland Security chief defends policy that separates families entering U.S. illegally

John Bacon
USA TODAY
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen tours a replacement border wall construction site on April 18, 2018 in Calexico, Calif.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is defending her agency's policy that separates children from their families when the parents are taken into custody for illegally entering the country.

Nielsen, testifying Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, denied that President Trump had ordered the separations as a tool to discourage illegal immigration.

"My decision has been that anyone who breaks the law will be prosecuted," she said. "If you are parent, or you're a single person or if you happen to have a family, if you cross between the ports of entry we will refer you for prosecution. You have broken U.S. law."

Nielsen said the children are transferred to the custody of Health and Human Services officials within two days.

Under sometimes heated questioning from California Sen. Kamala Harris and other Democrats, Nielsen said the children of parents being prosecuted across the nation for non-immigration crimes are separated from their families "every day."

But she also said more must be done to protect children taken at the border.

"I couldn't agree with your concerns more," Nielsen said. "We owe it to these children to protect them."

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Last month, HHS officials acknowledged that federal officials lost track of almost 1,500 migrant children in 2017 after they were placed with adult sponsors in communities across the nation.

HHS operates more than 100 shelters across the nation for children seized at the border. The Associated Press, citing two government sources, said four U.S. military bases in Texas and Arkansas may soon be used to house some of the children. HHS said in a statement only that it routinely evaluates temporary housing locations.

Nielsen testified days after The New York Times reported that Trump blasted her at a cabinet meeting last week for failing to stop illegal border crossings. Nielsen later released a statement saying she shared the president's frustrations.

"The President is rightly frustrated that existing loopholes and the lack of Congressional action have prevented this administration from fully securing the border and protecting the American people," she said. "I share his frustration."

 

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