We have tremendous vetting capabilities in the Department of Homeland Security and across the Federal enterprise.

If we can, in fact, adjudicate claims in the countries of origin or in truly safe places, then we will spare children the perilous journey north.

They did nothing to facilitate addressing the surge. What they did was they dismantled the tools that we had to address it.

That program should have been built up rather than torn down.

Senator, we make our decisions as we consider to be most effective in furtherance of our mission and not because of pressure by outside groups.

The Safe Third Country Agreements, in my opinion, put children in harm's way.

I certainly hope they do, Senator, and I will follow up on that with alacrity.

I have never said that the border is open, and I have never believed that it should be an open border.

We are complying with the court order, Senator.

We are not telling you not to come. We are just telling you that we are putting a system back in place in which you can come.

Access to counsel is a core principle in the administration of justice, and we are dedicated to achieving that across our enterprise.

The most sustainable solutions to our challenge at the border including addressing the root causes that drive people to migrate in the first place.

I do believe they do at this time, Mr. Chairman.

Among my top priorities is to ensure that our personnel can perform their critical missions, that they feel safe and secure at work, and that the fabric of our Department is not penetrated by hate or violent extremism.

The fact of the matter is that we are vigilant in guarding against foreign terrorist influences through all avenues, not just, of course, our land borders, but air and maritime.

False narratives, the spread of false narratives are used to fuel extremist ideologies.

We made a decision because the President and this Administration is dedicated not only to a safe and orderly immigration system but one that is humane, as well, to not expel children.

As I mentioned earlier, our priorities to secure the border in a time of pandemic, we are employing the Department of Health and Human Services, specifically the Center for Disease Control's Title 42 authority, to expel families and single…

the most persistent lethal threat to the country

We absolutely do not continue the cruel and extraordinarily inhumane policy of the past.

False narratives create a lack of confidence in our democratic institutions and sometimes worse and those false narratives can lead people who are predisposed to violence to commit acts of violence against our institutions and tragically…

It is time for that reform to be enacted.

We're focused on the greatest threats to public safety because we do not have limited resources.

We can secure our border and we can effectively combat the rise of domestic violent extremism.

Further, the Department will continue working closely with its partners to build greater public awareness of and resilience to disinformation.