'We Will Not Apologize': Trump DHS Chief Defends Immigration Policy of Separating Children From Parents
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was almost defiant in her defense of the Trump administration's highly criticized "zero tolerance" immigration policy. Speaking at the National Sheriffs' Association on Monday, June 18, she also called the recent reports about children being separated from their parents as "misinformation."
"We will not apologize for the job we do or for the job law enforcement does for doing the job that the American people expect us to do," she said as she addressed the attendees at the event, as her talk turned to the administration's border policies that have resulted in migrant children being separated from their families.
"Illegal actions have and must have consequences. No more free passes, no more get out of jail free cards," she emphasized, as quoted by CNN.
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As for the reports that people caught in the country's southern borders were all charged with crimes and had their children taken from them, Nielsen claimed these are "misinformation" being spread by those against the administration's policies.
"I visited the detention centers myself," she claimed, in response to the media asking if separating kids from their parents and guardians at the border is basically "child abuse."
"We have high standards. We give them meals and we give them education and we give them medical care. There are videos, there are TVs," Nielsen explained, according to CBS News.
While she may have staunchly defended the way border authorities have gone about implementing the "zero tolerance" policy, Nielsen admits that it's a problem, one that is beyond the DHS to do something about at this time.
"What I believe is that we should exercise our Democratic rights as Americans and fix the problem. It's a problem. Let's fix it," she said when asked for a reaction to the former first lady Laura Bush mentioning Japanese internment camps in her remark against the harsh border policies.
