Senate Republicans on Tuesday will welcome retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which the GOP says has shirked its responsibility to ensure protect the U.S. border.
DHS is a giant agency that was formed after the 9/11 attacks. Its authorities range from waterways to cyberspace, as well as dealing with natural disasters through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Recommended Stories
But for Republicans, the top priority at DHS has been enforcing laws that President Obama has tried to loosen through executive action. And Tuesday, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., will open his confirmation on Kelly with a clear message: it’s time to enforce border laws.
“During the last Congress, this committee held extensive hearings on the threats and vulnerabilities facing America,” Johnson said in his prepared remarks.
“From those hearings, I concluded that our borders are not secure, immigration laws are not being fully enforced, cyber threats are real and growing, and our critical infrastructure is not adequately secure,” he said.
“As a result, the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security will be shouldering enormous responsibilities,” he said.
In December, Trump made it clear that immigration was a key reason he picked Kelly to lead DHS. Trump said Kelly’s stint as commander of U.S. Southern Command gave him real insight into the immigration challenges the U.S. is facing.
Among other things, efforts by the Obama administration to curb illegal immigration at the southern border has failed during the last year. Recent data from DHS showed 2016 saw a flood of immigrants that rivaled or exceeded the crisis year of 2014.
“He is the right person to spearhead the urgent mission of stopping illegal immigration and securing our borders, streamlining TSA and improving coordination between our intelligence and law enforcement agencies,” Trump said last month. “With Gen. Kelly at the helm of DHS, the American people will have a leader committed to our safety as well as one who will work hand-in-hand with America’s rank-and-file TSA, ICE and Border Patrol officers.”
