WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), visited Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, one of the largest non-profit social service providers in the state. During the tour, the Senator and staff discussed the services provided to the state’s immigrant community, as well as the work being done to address the humanitarian crisis at our southern border. This visit comes after Senator Rosen’s announcement that she has put holds on two Department of Homeland Security nominees, which she will keep in place until the inhumane and substandard conditions at migrant detention centers significantly improve and oversight requirements are met.
“In light of the horrendous treatment of migrants at our southern border, I’m glad to see that countless organizations, like Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, are doing their part to right these injustices,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “Catholic Charities provides a wide array of services for immigrant members of our community, including providing basic needs as well as legal representation and resources. We need nongovernmental organizations to help step in now more than ever. That is why I am placing a hold on Department of Homeland Security nominees Chad F. Wolf and Troy D. Edgar until these inhumane conditions improve significantly.”
BACKGROUND: Last week, Senator Rosen joined her colleagues in sending a letter to Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) requesting a hearing on the health and safety conditions of migrant children arriving at the southern border. Earlier this month, Rosen led 17 of her colleagues in sending a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan raising concerns about a recent Office of Inspector General report detailing severe and dangerous overcrowding of migrants at El Paso Del Norte Processing Center during unannounced inspections conducted on May 8 and 9, 2019.
During a recent Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs hearing, Rosen questioned DHS Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan on deceptive statements made by DHS officials to Senator Rosen and Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) during their 2018 visit to the U.S.-Mexico Border. Rosen called out blatant discrepancies between DHS’s public statements and its representations about the Department’s ability to reunite separated children with their families, and internal agency emails that revealed the agency knew it lacked the information needed to reunite parents and relatives with their children. Rosen also asked McAleenan to commit to telling the truth regarding the Administration’s immigration policies going forward.
Senator Rosen is a co-sponsor of the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE) Act, which would allow qualified Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients to apply for legal permanent residency. Rosen is also a co-sponsor of the Keep Families Together Act, which would ensure that the federal government carries out immigration procedures in the best interest of detained children.
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