The Way Forward on Border Security Hearing
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THE WAY FORWARD ON BORDER SECURITY HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 6, 2019 Serial No. 116–4 Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 35–380 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019 VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:27 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 H:\116TH\19FL0306\35380 HEATH Congress.#13 COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi, Chairman SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas MIKE ROGERS, Alabama JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island PETER T. KING, New York CEDRIC L. RICHMOND, Louisiana MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas DONALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey JOHN KATKO, New York KATHLEEN M. RICE, New York JOHN RATCLIFFE, Texas J. LUIS CORREA, California MARK WALKER, North Carolina XOCHITL TORRES SMALL, New Mexico CLAY HIGGINS, Louisiana MAX ROSE, New York DEBBIE LESKO, Arizona LAUREN UNDERWOOD, Illinois MARK GREEN, Tennessee ELISSA SLOTKIN, Michigan VAN TAYLOR, Texas EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri JOHN JOYCE, Pennsylvania AL GREEN, Texas DAN CRENSHAW, Texas YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York MICHAEL GUEST, Mississippi DINA TITUS, Nevada BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN, New Jersey NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGA´ N, California VAL BUTLER DEMINGS, Florida HOPE GOINS, Staff Director CHRIS VIESON, Minority Staff Director (II) VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:27 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\116TH\19FL0306\35380 HEATH C O N T E N T S Page STATEMENTS The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 1 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 3 The Honorable Mike Rogers, a Representative in Congress From the State of Alabama, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 3 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 5 The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas: Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 7 WITNESS Hon. Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 9 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 13 FOR THE RECORD Statement of Amnesty International ..................................................................... 69 Statement of the Center for Victims of Torture .................................................... 74 Statement of CWS ................................................................................................... 77 Letter From the Electronic Privacy Information Center ...................................... 79 Statement of First Focus ......................................................................................... 82 Statement of HIAS .................................................................................................. 84 Statement of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) ...................................................... 85 Statement of Physicians for Human Rights .......................................................... 91 Letters From Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee ........................................................ 91 APPENDIX Questions From Chairman Bennie G. Thompson ................................................. 95 Questions From Honorable Xochitl Torres Small ................................................. 97 Questions From Honorable Lauren Underwood .................................................... 98 Questions From Ranking Member Mike Rogers ................................................... 99 Questions From Honorable Clay Higgins .............................................................. 99 Question From Honorable Michael Guest ............................................................. 100 (III) VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:27 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\116TH\19FL0306\35380 HEATH VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:27 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\116TH\19FL0306\35380 HEATH THE WAY FORWARD ON BORDER SECURITY Tuesday, March 6, 2019 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., in room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Bennie G. Thompson (Chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Representatives Thompson, Jackson Lee, Langevin, Richmond, Payne, Rice, Correa, Torres Small, Rose, Underwood, Slotkin, Cleaver, Green of Texas, Clarke, Titus, Watson Coleman, Barraga´n, Demings, Rogers, King, McCaul, Katko, Walker, Higgings, Lesko, Green of Tennessee, Taylor, Joyce, Crenshaw, and Guest. Chairman THOMPSON. The Committee on Homeland Security will come to order. What I would like to do is, for the members of the press, we all ask that you part where you are right there and get to the side, take your pictures as you like. But before we begin, we would like to accommodate the public behind you. OK, those press folk who are where you are, we are going to ask that you get to the side. The committee is meeting today to receive testimony on the way forward on border security. Now, before I begin, I want to express my condolences to those who lost loved ones in the devastating storms in the Southeast on Sunday. At least 23 people lost their lives, and still more were in- jured in Lee County, Alabama, the Ranking Member’s district. I would like to speak for the Members of the committee and say that our thoughts and prayers are with you and all your constituents at this difficult time. Mr. ROGERS. Thank you. Chairman THOMPSON. In addition, I would like to express our sympathies to Congressman Katko in the loss of his father last week. A lot of us have been there. It is a difficult time. But know that we are all in support of you. Turning to today’s hearing, I note it has been nearly a year since the Secretary of Homeland Security testified before this committee, as well as a number of the Members of the committee are meeting you for the first time. A great deal has happened in that time. The Department of Homeland Security separated thousands of children from their par- ents at the border. Two small children died in the Department’s custody. The President shut down the Federal Government over de- (1) VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:27 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 H:\116TH\19FL0306\35380 HEATH 2 mands for more taxpayer money for a border wall. Most recently, the President declared a non-existent emergency at the border be- cause Congress would not capitulate to his funding demands. Clearly, oversight of the Trump administration’s border policy is long overdue. Under my Chairmanship, the days of lax oversight of the Depart- ment by this committee are over. With the hope of informing our hearing discussion on January 4, 2019, I wrote to Secretary Nielsen asking for documents related to the border wall, the De- partment’s interference with asylum seekers at ports of entry, sep- aration of families at the border, and treatment of children in their custody. More than 2 months later, the committee has only received a handful of the requested documents. This is unacceptable. The committee needs this information for its oversight, and the Depart- ment’s failure to provide it raises further questions about this ad- ministration’s credibility. Let me be clear. I am prepared to use the tools at the committee’s disposal to obtain the information if the Secretary fails to comply. Today, we will look at what the administration has said and done about border security and line it up against the facts. When it comes to border security, what the American people have heard from the Trump administration is misleading at best. The Sec- retary has said the administration had no policy to separate chil- dren from their parents. But internal memorandum makes clear she was aware the administration’s policy would require families to be separated. No amount of verbal gymnastics will change that she knew the Trump administration was implementing a policy to separate fami- lies at the border. To make matters worse, the administration bun- gled implementation of a cruel plan, losing track of children and even deporting parents to Central America without their children. The Department also began limiting lawful asylum seekers pre- senting themselves at ports of entry, driving desperate families into more remote parts of the border and overwhelming border per- sonnel and resources in those areas. Tragically, two young children died when they became ill in cus- tody. Shortly thereafter, the President shut down the Government and declared a border emergency, an emergency that does not exist, to get more funding for a wall. The President himself admitted there is no emergency, even as he was announcing his declaration, saying, ‘‘I didn’t need to do this. I just want to do it faster.’’ The President wants to build a wall so there is something to point to or have his picture