Kirstjen Nielsen

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Border Officials: Let's Use That 'Heat Ray' on Migrants

Back in 2018, Kirstjen Nielsen nixed it right away

(Newser) - Right before the 2018 midterms, a Homeland Security meeting gave birth to an extreme idea: zapping border migrants with a "heat ray" to make them feel like their skin was burning, former officials tell the New York Times . Customs and Border Protection officials apparently suggested it to Homeland Security...

A Former Senior Trump Official Just Endorsed Joe Biden

Miles Taylor, former Homeland Security chief of staff, says Trump is dangerous

(Newser) - From 2017 to 2019, Miles Taylor served under President Trump at the Department of Homeland Security, including as its chief of staff under Kirstjen Nielsen. Now, in a Washington Post op-ed, Taylor is endorsing ... Joe Biden. "After serving for more than two years in the Department of Homeland Security’...

Ex-DHS Chief Nielsen Reveals Why She Resigned

At 'Fortune' summit, Kirstjen Nielsen also says has no regrets on 'enforcing law' that separated families

(Newser) - "These conversations can be tough, and arguably should be tough, as I'm sure this next one will be" is how the intro for Kirstjen Nielsen went at Tuesday's Most Powerful Women Summit sponsored by Fortune magazine. And interviewer Amna Nawaz got right into it with the former...

Report: Trump Suggested Shooting Migrants in Legs

He wanted alligators in border trench, sources say

(Newser) - President Trump aired some disturbing ideas during a "frenzied" week in March when his frustration with border security reached a boiling point, reports the New York Times , which cites "more than a dozen White House and administration officials." According to the sources, during one meeting in March...

Top Border Official Resigns Abruptly After 2 Months

John Sanders is out as acting director of Customs and Border Patrol

(Newser) - More turmoil at the agency that polices the nation's border: The acting director of Customs and Border Protection has resigned after just two months on the job, reports NBC News . "I will leave it to you to determine whether I was successful," John Sanders wrote to CBP...

Report: Kirstjen Nielsen Told to Keep Concern From Trump

Specifically about potential 2020 election interference by the Russians

(Newser) - Kirstjen Nielsen may be out of the Trump administration, but she's not out of the news. The New York Times is out with a report claiming that in the waning days of her tenure, Nielsen was instructed not to discuss one of her major concerns as homeland security secretary...

Heads Keep Rolling at Homeland Security

Nielsen praises 'steady force' No. 2 Claire Grady, who is leaving Wednesday

(Newser) - Wednesday is Kirstjen Nielsen's final day as Homeland Security chief —and her second-in-command will be leaving with her. Nielsen, whose abrupt departure comes as part of a wider shakeup of immigration officials, tweeted Tuesday night that Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady has handed in her resignation, effective Wednesday,...

Republicans to Trump: Stop Firing Security Officials

Grassley says he is 'very, very concerned'

(Newser) - President Trump's purge of top immigration officials has to stop, says Sen. Charles Grassley, the chamber's most senior Republican. Grassley tells the Washington Post that Trump is ousting "good public servants" and he is "very, very concerned" that Lee Francis Cissna, the director of US Citizenship...

Kirstjen Nielsen Makes First Remarks Since Resignation

Former DHS chief thanks Trump, says she supports his goal of secure border

(Newser) - If Kirstjen Nielsen has any animosity after her abrupt resignation as Homeland Security chief, she didn't let it show in her first public comments since the news broke. "I just want to thank the president again for the tremendous opportunity to serve this country," Nielsen told reporters...

Report: Kirstjen Nielsen Was Forced to Step Down
Report: Kirstjen Nielsen
Was Forced to Step Down
THE RUNDOWN

Report: Kirstjen Nielsen Was Forced to Step Down

Sources say hardliners are demanding DHS shakeup

(Newser) - Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's abrupt resignation Sunday wasn't her idea, reports the Washington Post , which cites "two senior administration officials." The sources say Nielsen wasn't planning to resign when she went to a meeting with President Trump on Sunday, two days after...

'Frustrated' Kirstjen Nielsen Hands In Her Resignation

Kevin McAleenan will become acting head of Homeland Security

(Newser) - Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned on Sunday amid the administration's growing frustration and bitterness over the number of Central American families crossing the southern border, two people familiar with the decision said. President Donald Trump thanked her for her work in a tweet and announced US Customs and...

DHS Chief: Border Crisis Isn't My Fault
Trump Doles Out Blame
in Migrant Child Deaths
updated

Trump Doles Out Blame in Migrant Child Deaths

As Kirstjen Nielsen visits medical staff in Arizona

(Newser) - President Trump deflected any blame from his administration for the deaths of two Guatemalan children this month in US government custody as his Homeland Security chief visited Border Patrol medical officials amid promises of more thorough health screenings for migrant children, the AP reports. Instead, the president, whose administration has...

Mexico Just Made a Big Change on Migrants

People seeking asylum in US will be returned to Mexico to wait out the process

(Newser) - Mexico has agreed to a fundamental change on how it deals with migrants seeking asylum in the US. Instead of being allowed to cross into America, they will now be returned to Mexico to wait out the legal process, reports the AP . The Homeland Security Department calls Mexico's agreement...

Nielsen: This Is What Happens 'When Migrants Come Illegally'

Homeland Security chief calls the death of 7-year-old girl 'heart-wrenching'

(Newser) - The Trump administration views the death of a 7-year-old girl in the custody of US Border Patrol as "a very sad example of the dangers" migrants face during illegal border crossings. "We cannot stress how dangerous the journey is when migrants come illegally," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen...

Report: Trump Has Had It With Homeland Security Chief

He's seeking Nielsen replacement, sources say

(Newser) - Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has fallen out of favor with President Trump and could be replaced before she makes it to the one-year mark on Dec. 6, the Washington Post reports, citing "five current and former White House officials." The sources say Trump has grown frustrated with...

Russia Not Hacking Election on 'Scale and Scope' of '16: Nielsen

But DHS secretary says she's seeing 'persistent Russian efforts' to 'sow discord'

(Newser) - There are no signs Russia is targeting the 2018 midterm elections for cyberattacks with the "scale and scope" it used in 2016, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told a conference of state secretaries of state and other high-ranking election officials on Saturday. She added, however, that US intelligence officials...

Why 19 ICE Agents Want to See ICE Obliterated

They want to see it dissolved, and to have 2 distinct agencies rise from the ashes

(Newser) - On Wednesday, the Intercept declared that calls for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be dissolved are becoming "more mainstream." It points out that at least 15 Democratic congressional candidates— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among them—have platforms that call for de-funding or getting rid of the 15-year-old agency altogether. Now,...

Did Huckabee Sanders Deserve It? 2 Opposing Views
Did Huckabee Sanders Deserve
It? 2 Opposing Views
OPINION

Did Huckabee Sanders Deserve It? 2 Opposing Views

'Washington Post' says Trump officials should be able to 'eat in peace.' A columnist disagrees

(Newser) - Did a Virginia restaurateur go too far by asking Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave her establishment? The incident came after the Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen and top Trump aide Stephen Miller were publicly heckled at DC restaurants. Below are two different views on whether this kind of thing is...

Homeland Security Chief Heckled in Mexican Restaurant

'If kids don't eat in peace, you don't eat in peace'

(Newser) - Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, one of the main defenders of the administration's harsh border policies , decided to dine at a Mexican restaurant Tuesday night. It did not go well. Protesters entered the MXDC restaurant in Washington and confronted Nielsen and her dinner companion about the family separation policy,...

UN Rights Chief Likens Border Separations to Child Abuse
Trump: Criminals Exploiting
Kids at the Border
the rundown

Trump: Criminals Exploiting Kids at the Border

Meanwhile, UN human rights chief likens the separations to 'abuse'

(Newser) - The UN humans rights chief issued his strongest denunciation yet regarding the separation of immigrant children from their parents at the US border and demanded that it stop immediately, reports the New York Times . "The thought that any state would seek to deter parents by inflicting such abuse on...

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