In Floor Speech, Rosen Opposes Nomination of Chad Wolf to be Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary

VIEW FULL SPEECH HERE.
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,  took to the Senate floor in opposition to the nomination of Chad Wolf to the position of Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Planning at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Wolf is widely expected to be appointed Acting DHS Secretary after his confirmation as Under Secretary.

“I stand here today opposed not only to Mr. Wolf’s nomination, but also to the way in which this Administration is circumventing the Constitutional requirement of advice and consent to make Mr. Wolf the head of the third largest Department in the federal government,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “This evening’s vote will advance a nominee who played an integral role in this Administration’s cruel family separation policy. Tonight’s vote is about the refusal of this Administration to address its treatment of detained children. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote against cloture on Mr. Wolf’s nomination tonight and against his confirmation tomorrow, and I pledge to work with all of you and the Administration to identify nominees to lead the Department who we can all support.”
 
BACKGROUND: Noticias reports indicate that Mr. Wolf played a major role in the develop of the Administration’s family separation policy, something Wolf denied to Senator Rosen during his public confirmation hearing earlier this year. Rosen has had a hold on Wolf’s nomination for the past five months. She has said that she would lift the hold on Wolf’s nomination if conditions at the border significantly improved, including the hiring by CBP of pediatricians and child welfare professionals and increased access to CBP facilities for non-governmental organizations.

In July, Senator Rosen took to the Senate floor to demand immediate action and an end to the inhumane treatment of migrant children at the southern border. Rosen outlined reforms that DHS must make in order to improve conditions for migrant children, which were laid out in a letter she sent to DHS Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan. 

Also in July, Rosen voted in committee against Chad Wolf’s nomination as DHS Undersecretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans.

Earlier this year, Rosen joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and 12 of her Senate colleagues, traveled to McAllen, Texas to inspect and evaluate the conditions at CBP facilities.

In June, 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. Also in June, Rosen led 17 of her colleagues in sending a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan, raising concerns about a report from DHS’s Office of Inspector General detailing severe and dangerous overcrowding discovered during unannounced inspections conducted on May 8 and 9, 2019 at Paso Del Norte Processing Center in El Paso, Texas.

In May, Senator Rosen questioned Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan on misleading statements DHS officials made to her and Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) during their 2018 visit to the U.S.-Mexico border. Senator Rosen and Congressman Carbajal traveled together to Texas to visit a facility housing unaccompanied immigrant minors in Tornillo and CBP’s Paso del Norte Processing Center in El Paso. Personnel from DHS and the Department of Health & Human Services assured them that their agencies had the information and resources needed to reunite separated migrant families.

Rosen is 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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