Political Quotes

“I think you make some excellent points. One point I want to kind of talk about, this culture that is permeating Customs and Border Protection, I think that it is also based because of the leadership of this administration. The attitude of zero tolerance, as in, like: Nope, it doesn't matter what conditions you are leaving, it doesn't matter if you are fleeing violence, it doesn't matter if you are a victim of domestic abuse, you can no longer use that as a rationale for seeking asylum. That zero tolerance mentality is what is also helping drive this rotting of the culture within Customs and Border Protection. Changing the leadership makes a difference, but as long as there is a change in the civilian leadership. Oversight is crucial. A lot of people ask: What is the difference between Democrats and Republicans? What is the difference between you guys being in charge versus Republicans being in charge? One of the things that I noticed when I was on Oversight in the minority from my first year, year and a half in Congress is that we couldn't call in Customs and Border Protection and ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to have a public hearing on these issues. The only hearing we had regarding the zero-tolerance policy was behind closed doors, no cameras present. I don't even believe staff was allowed in the room. So we had to sit there and ask, and we asked enough questions to get more information about how the zero-tolerance policy worked, how it was the nitty-gritty.…”