The Department of Homeland Security has failed to lead in battling the migration surge on the U.S.-Mexico border, relying instead on the White House for ineffective executive actions, according to a senior House Democrat.
Rep. Kathleen Rice, chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations, on Tuesday said department officials’ calls for more money and resources have all been answered by Congress.
“Make no mistake, this is not a funding issue or an issue of congressional cooperation,” said the New York Democrat.
Rice added, “The issue we face right now is a leadership and management problem. The anti-immigrant directives coming from the president along with DHS officials that have been purged or rendered powerless by White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, leave [Customs and Border Protection] and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] rudderless and unaccountable to Congress.”
A large number of Department of Homeland Security officials were fired or resigned under pressure in the past three months, leaving acting officials in charge. Recently departed officials include Secretary Kristjen Nielsen, Deputy Secretary Claire Grady, ICE nominee Ronald Vitiello, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long, and Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles.
Rice said Congress has given the department additional money and highlighted the $60 million Congress allocated in February to hire 1,000 new Border Patrol agents.
Following the month-and-a-half-long partial government shutdown earlier this year, Congress approved $1.375 billion for additional border barriers and technology at the international boundary, as well as $414 million for humanitarian aid. That money was for additional medical staff at Customs and Border Protection facilities; food, diapers, and formula for children in its custody; and money to cover transportation costs of migrants who need professional medical care outside the facility.
Despite the funding, President Trump has taken the lead on immigration, she said.
Late Monday, the White House announced changes to asylum laws that intend to discourage people leaving primarily Central American countries for the U.S. from traveling here.
[Opinion: The asylum loophole is breaking the border; Trump’s new directive is a good start at fixing it]
Trump directed acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and Attorney General William Barr to draw up regulations so that the government can stop issuing work permits for those with pending asylum trials and start imposing fees on immigrants who claim asylum.
“The presidential memorandum issued last night is just another example of the White House attempting to unilaterally change our asylum laws while circumventing Congress,” Rice said.
Customs and Border Protection officials the Washington Examiner has spoken with have largely said the reason more than 100,000 people were stopped from entering over the southern border just last month was because of “loopholes” in asylum policy that Congress has not moved to change.
