Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Thursday reminded Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., that it’s his responsibility as a lawmaker to change laws that he does not like after the senator mounted a Twitter campaign following the deportation of a Honduran mother and her son.
“I say it over and over again: If the laws are not good laws, then change them,” Kelly said at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council. “Don’t call me, or Twitter or tweet, or go to the press with outrageous stories about how we do business or why we’re deporting somebody.”
Casey excoriated the administration on Twitter over a 25-year-old mother and 5-year-old son who were deported to Honduras Wednesday. He says the mother witnessed the murder of her cousin at the hands of a gang and is being targeted by those same gangs. The Pennsylvania senator also argues her son would have been eligible for special immigrant juvenile status.
Shame on @realDonaldTrump @Reince45 @DHSgov @ICEgov for turning their back on this child and his mother. They should be better than this.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 4, 2017
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus spoke by phone with Casey on Wednesday and told him he was looking into the situation. Casey claims Kelly did not return his phone calls and in an interview with MSNBC said he “thought more of him” — a claim Kelly refutes. According to Kelly, he phoned Casey’s office several times and his calls went unreturned. A spokesperson for Casey says the two finally spoke Thursday.
“Sen. Casey left a direct number, cell and email with Secretary Kelly’s team and did not receive a call yesterday. This morning at 6:30 a.m., Secretary Kelly called our main office line instead of the numbers his team was given. At 6:30 in the morning, our main office was closed and taking voicemails. Despite that, Sen. Casey and Secretary Kelly spoke today,” Casey spokesperson John Rizzo told the Washington Examiner.
Kelly rejects the senator’s claim that the woman and her son face imminent danger. According to Kelly, the woman was simply echoing key phrases so when could receive what is known as a credible fear interview in order to determine if she faced potential harm if she were returned to her home country. The interview is a necessary step in the process of filing an asylum claim. The woman, Kelly added, had been denied asylum over four times and had exhausted her legal options leading to the deportation.
“The vast majority of people who come up here, that’s … the overwhelming number, say exactly the same words because they are schooled by the traffickers to say certain words, to give certain scenarios, which, generally speaking, will get you to remain in the United States, in the system, because of a credible fear claim, so she did that,” Kelly said.
