WASHINGTON – Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) issued the following statement Nov. 13 after voting against the nomination of Chad Wolf to serve as under secretary of homeland security for strategy, policy, and plans. Just hours after his confirmation, Wolf was sworn in as acting secretary of homeland security.
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I strongly oppose the nomination of Chad Wolf to be under secretary for strategy, policy, and plans, which Donald Trump has turned into a nomination for him to be acting secretary of homeland security. If confirmed, Chad Wolf would be the fifth person to lead the Department of Homeland Security – the country’s third-largest federal agency – in less than three years.
In an administration that has been marked by chaos and cruelty, Chad Wolf was an early author of several of the cruelest anti-immigrant policies we’ve seen to date. As the former chief of staff to then-Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, he proposed separating children from their parents at the border to deter the flow of migrants at the southern border. The more than 2,800 children who were used in this cruel way will bear the trauma of separation – likely for life.
Chad Wolf was also an early architect of the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Under this policy, the Trump Administration has forced nearly 50,000 migrants, including nearly 500 infants and 16,000 children to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexico while their asylum claims are being processed in the United States. Again, the use of the cruelest methods to achieve their anti-immigrant ends.
These policies do not reflect the values of our country. Chad Wolf’s record shows that he will only further the chaos and cruelty of this administration, and he should not ascend to a position where he can do more harm to the most vulnerable among us.