Democrat Andy Kim, New Jersey’s junior U.S. senator, is an outspoken member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Recently he has criticized President Donald Trump’s policies and pressed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on key issues during his confirmation hearings.
With the partial federal government shutdown in its sixth week, Republicans and Democrats in Congress seem nowhere near an agreement to fund the department.
Travelers at airports across the country endure hours-long screening lines. Transportation Security Administration agents, who work under Homeland Security, continue to go without pay. The negotiations to get them back to work appear to have stalled as of Wednesday, as Democrats, including Kim, stood firm on their refusal to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Border Patrol without reforms.
“I’d still like to see those negotiations continue,” Kim said in an interview with NJ Spotlight News. “But since that’s gonna take some time, let’s move forward and fund the parts of DHS that we can agree on.”
He called on Republicans to remedy the shutdown, and criticized Trump for his calls to end it if Congress passes the SAVE America Act, the restrictive voting bill that would block millions of Americans, particularly immigrants and people of little means, from casting ballots. Trump has said that if Democrats win control of Congress in the midterm elections in November, they’re certain to start proceedings to remove him from office.
“The president’s idea of holding TSA hostage for the SAVE America Act is just a stupid idea,” Kim said. “It’s one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard him say when it comes to these negotiations.”
Amid the department’s shutdown, Mullin, a former U.S. senator, was sworn in as Homeland Security chief. Kim voted against his confirmation, but expressed agreement with Mullin’s criticism of ICE for its purchase of a Roxbury warehouse that it intends to turn into a detention center.
“In the confirmation hearing, Mullin did say that he thought it was wrong that ICE moved forward without engagement and agreement with the local officials and leadership,” Kim said. “He also pointed out that yes, there are huge problems when you’re trying to convert a warehouse the size of three football fields into something that is meant to hold nearly 2,000 people.”
Kim also railed against the high cost of the proposed detention facility, and called on Mullin to stick to his word and visit the Roxbury site.
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