June 20, 2018 01:49 PM UTC

Rep. DeGette: DHS Secretary Nielsen Must Resign

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• by: Colorado Pols

A press release from the dean of Colorado’s congressional delegation, Rep. Diana DeGette, calls for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to either resign or be terminated from her position over the unfolding crisis of family separations on the southern border:

Secretary Nielsen falsely blamed Democrats for the humanitarian crisis at a Monday press briefing and also issued a tweet stating, “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.” This denial comes in spite of a clear effort by the Trump administration to prosecute as many undocumented border crossings as possible, regardless of whether the individuals are crossing with children or whether they are seeking asylum.

“Enough is enough. Secretary Nielsen should resign or be fired from her post” DeGette said. “She has overseen an unprecedented humanitarian crisis ripping away thousands of young children from their parents without a clear path to reunification.

“Worse yet, she denies any culpability for this tragedy while inexplicably blaming Democrats for creating it, despite our long-standing efforts to oppose family separation and end this cruel practice. Secretary Nielsen’s complete lack of understanding of the law, total insensitivity to the plight of these families and blatant disregard for facts make her unfit to serve the public in this or any capacity.”

Nielsen’s claim that Democrats are somehow responsible for a deliberate policy change by the Trump Justice Department to charge everyone caught crossing the border without documentation with a criminal offense–echoed by President Donald Trump and other Republicans defending this highly controversial new policy–has been thoroughly debunked by every credible media outlet that has examined the question. There is no such precedent, and there is no similarity between the Trump administration’s decision to forcibly separate families and the humanitarian crisis faced by the Obama administration from unaccompanied minors arriving in the United States.

This allegation is particularly galling to congressional Democrats, who have tried to solve the underlying issues that provoked in this crisis for years, and certainly never took action against children to force the other side to “negotiate.”

In a perfect world, Republicans and Democrats who claim to oppose what is happening on the border would unite to demand this policy end–and its defenders to be held accountable. We’ll believe the Mike Coffmans of the world are serious in their protestations when they’re willing to put aside partisanship and set the record straight on this critical detail.

Because the Democrats. Had nothing. To do with this.