Feinstein Statement on Nielsen Resignation

Washington—Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement on the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen:

“The job of Homeland Security Secretary, enforcing President Trump’s immigration policies, has been the thankless task of Secretary Nielsen for over a year.

“President Trump and his advisors have implemented policies that led to family separation, slashed the number of refugee admissions, undermined the legal asylum process and banned travel from Muslim countries. We’ve even seen children die while in custody. These policies must change.

“Now, President Trump says he wants DHS personnel who are ‘tougher’ on immigrants. That’s why he said he pulled the nomination of Ron Vitiello to head ICE last week, and it appears to be why he forced Secretary Nielsen out.

“In my opinion, our immigration policies must be more humane. I’ve met twice with Kevin McAleenan, who will serve as acting Secretary, and I hope he’ll be able to propose and implement more sensible, humane and bipartisan solutions to the problems we face.”

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