Correspondence
Thompson, Rose Demand Documents from DHS on Withheld 2020 Campaign Interference Intelligence Report, Request Watchdog Investigation
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Max Rose (D-NY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence & Counterterrorism, sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security - as well as the DHS Office of the Inspector General - regarding a news report suggesting DHS officials may have inappropriately withheld an Office of Intelligence and Analysis intelligence bulletin warning law enforcement partners-with "high … Continue Reading
August 27, 2020
Thompson, Maloney Urge DHS IG Review Homeland Security Actions Under Wolf, Cuccinelli
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Joseph Cuffari urging his office to expeditiously review the matters referred to it by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its August 14 legal decision determining that the appointments of Chad Wolf as the Acting Secretary … Continue Reading
August 27, 2020
Thompson and Rice Write CBP Questioning Border Wall Contract with Fisher
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee, sent a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding its recent contract award for border wall construction to Fisher Sand & Gravel Company after it decided to begin awarding its own contracts for select border wall projects, rather than through the Army Corps of … Continue Reading
August 26, 2020
Chairman Thompson Requests Investigation into Chad Wolf for Hatch Act Violation
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to the Office of Special Counsel to request the office investigate Department of Homeland Security official Chad Wolf for an apparent Hatch Act violation after he participated in the Republican National Convention last night. Mr. Wolf, who was illegally appointed to his position, has a pattern of politicizing the Department's non-partisan, national security mission. Letter … Continue Reading
August 24, 2020
Chairman Thompson Demands Documents from DHS on Interactions with We Build the Wall
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeking documents regarding interactions between DHS-including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and all other component agencies-with We Build the Wall, including interactions regarding projects built by Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. and any of its subsidiaries in Sunland Park, New Mexico, and Mission, Texas, in 2019. In the … Continue Reading
August 21, 2020
Thompson and Rice Demand USCIS Delay Needless Furlough
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services demanding they postpone the impending furlough of over 13,000 employees on August 30, 2020. Given the recent reevaluation of the USCIS budget, it is clear that they have adequate … Continue Reading
August 17, 2020
Thompson and Rice Demand DHS Comply with Trusted Traveler Investigation
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding compliance with the Committee's requests for documents and transcribed interviews related to the Committee's investigation into revelations that the Department made wrong and misleading statements regarding its decision to … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
Thompson & Rose Demand Documents from DHS After Intelligence Reports Compiled on Journalists
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Max Rose (D-NY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, sent a letter to the Acting Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting documents regarding I&A's role in the Department's response to protests in Portland this month in the wake of several disturbing reports indicating that … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
As COVID-19 Stretches FEMA Thin and Hurricane and Wildfire Seasons Ramp Up, House and Senate Committee Leaders Demand Administration Work to Fill Neglected Senior Leadership Vacancies at the Agency
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR); Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS); Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Gary Peters (D-MI); Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Dina Titus (D-NV); and Chair of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, & Recovery Donald M. … Continue Reading
July 20, 2020
Homeland Democrats Demand Documents from DHS on Trump Administration Deployment in Portland
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, along with Democratic members of the Committee, sent a letter to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on the Department of Homeland Security's actions in Portland. The Department has sent no justification to Congress for its actions. The Department has still not answered an overdue Congressional request for documents pertaining to its statue protection 'Task Force'. "[W]e are … Continue Reading
July 19, 2020
Nadler, Thompson & Maloney Call for IG Investigation Into Trump Administration Use of Force Against Protestors
(WASHINGTON) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) condemned the Trump Administration's use of violent tactics against peaceful protestors in Washington D.C., Portland, Oregon, and elsewhere around the country, and demanded that the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) open … Continue Reading
July 15, 2020
Thompson and Rice Urge DHS and CBP to Halt Deployment of Officers to Southwest Border
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations, sent a letter to Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, and Mark Morgan, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), urging the Administration to immediately reverse plans to deploy additional DHS personnel from across the United States during the … Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
Waters, Smith, Engel, Thompson and Pallone Seek Information on Trump Administration Failures to Boost Production of PPE and Testing As COVID-19 Cases Spike
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Secretary of … Continue Reading
July 10, 2020
Chairman Thompson Writes DHS on Sharp Increase of COVID-19 Cases at the Department
"Despite this troubling trend, it appears your Department has not taken simple steps to help ensure these employees are as safe as possible" (WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf regarding the troubling rise in COVID-19 cases among the frontline workforce of the Department of Homeland Security. According to data regularly provided to the Committee, the number of … Continue Reading
July 06, 2020
Thompson and Correa Call on TSA to Make Masks Mandatory
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), Chairman of the Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) again calling on him to issue a requirement for airline passengers to wear masks in order to go through airport security checkpoints. The Members previously wrote TSA on this issue in May. Currently, only … Continue Reading
July 06, 2020
Chairman Thompson Demands Documents from DHS on Statue Protection ‘Task Force’
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf requesting documents on the Department of Homeland Security's new "Protecting American Communities Task Force" created to coordinate law enforcement activity to protect "monuments, memorials, statues, and federal facilities." In the letter, Chairman Thompson writes that although DHS has provided a briefing on the Task Force to … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Thompson Demands U.S. Coast Guard Ban Confederate Flag
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, demanding the Coast Guard prohibit public displays of the Confederate Battle Flag at all Coast Guard installations, cutters, boats, aircraft, and government-owned housing. The U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps have already decided to prohibit displays of the flag from all of their military facilities Chairman Thompson … Continue Reading
June 26, 2020
Chairman Thompson Demands FBI Director Provide Documents and Agree to Testify
(WASHINGTON) - Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray regarding multiple requests for briefings and documents that have yet to be fulfilled by the FBI. The Committee has tried to resolve these issues to no avail, with the FBI failing to even schedule a requested telephone call between Chairman Thompson and Director Wray to discuss the long overdue requests. To date, the FBI has failed to: Provide … Continue Reading
June 22, 2020
Thompson Demands Documents Regarding Nigel Farage Travel to the United States to Attend Trump Rally
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), regarding the decision by the Trump Administration to permit Mr. Nigel Farage to travel to the United States from the United Kingdom, enabling him to attend the Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Currently, travel to the United States is not allowed from the United Kingdom due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the … Continue Reading
June 17, 2020
Chairman Thompson Writes DHS on Temperature Check Plan
(WASHINGTON) - Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf expressing concerns regarding reports that DHS is preparing to task the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) with checking temperatures of departing passengers at U.S. airports to identify individuals who may have COVID-19. "I understand that some airlines and airports are lobbying the Trump Administration to conduct … Continue Reading