Press Releases
Chairman Thompson Statement on Reports ICE Forcing Family Separation or Indefinite Detention on Immigrant Families
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is forcing family separation or indefinite detention on immigrant families. "Reports that the Trump Administration is finding new ways to separate families and treat immigrants inhumanely during this pandemic are a new low. The coronavirus pandemic cannot be used as a Trojan horse for the … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Chairman Thompson Statement on National Police Week and National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on National Police Week and National Peace Officers' Memorial Day: "As National Police Week comes to a close and on National Peace Officers' Memorial Day, we honor the brave men and women around the country who serve to ensure the safety and security of our homeland, especially during these trying times. We also take the time to remember all of those who have … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
Government Report Shows CFATS Program Must Be Strengthened
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the Department of Homeland Security's oversight of cybersecurity at high-risk chemical facilities under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. The largely physical security program also includes cybersecurity as one of the standards that regulated facilities must adhere to. The … Continue Reading
May 13, 2020
FEMA Contractor Fails to Deliver N95 Masks by Deadline
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement upon confirmation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that it did not receive the delivery of 10 million N95 masks from a company with no relevant experience providing medical supplies or equipment. FEMA terminated the contract. "This is yet another example of a systemic problem affecting contracting at FEMA. As demonstrated during the 2017 … Continue Reading
May 07, 2020
Thompson: Secret Service Belongs in the Department of Homeland Security
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement after the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee introduced a bill to transfer the U.S. Secret Service from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to the Department of the Treasury: "As I have said ever since the Trump Administration first floated the idea of ripping the Secret Service out of DHS, it is a bad idea that will not make … Continue Reading
May 06, 2020
Thompson Statement on White House Interference in Medical Supply and Equipment Distribution
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on news reports that White House interference in Federal government efforts to distribute medical supplies and equipment had a clear negative impact: "The fact the White House, at Jared Kushner's direction, chose to put consulting and private equity firms in charge of emergency response and PPE distribution during a pandemic is truly mindboggling. It should … Continue Reading
May 01, 2020
Thompson, DeFazio Urge Trump to Approve Assistance for FEMA to Pay for Coronavirus Victim Burials
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, released the following statement urging President Trump to release funding for FEMA to pay for burial costs for victims of COVID-19. In past disasters, FEMA has paid these costs: "The current coronavirus pandemic has not only been the deadliest disaster the country has faced in over a century - it … Continue Reading
April 17, 2020
Chairman Thompson Statement After Committee Briefed by FEMA Administrator Gaynor
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement after members of the Committee were briefed by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Peter Gaynor and Department of Health and Human Services Director of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy Dr. Tammy Beckham on the Federal government's coronavirus response efforts: "We are eternally grateful for the thousands of women and … Continue Reading
April 17, 2020
Thompson Statement on Trump’s Dangerous and Incendiary Rhetoric
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement after President Trump, while the country is facing a pandemic, spent the afternoon on Twitter egging on right-wing demonstrators who have protested against stay-at-home orders in states with Democratic governors. "The President's tweets this afternoon were incendiary on many levels. State and local leaders across the country-including Virginia, Minnesota, and … Continue Reading
April 17, 2020
VIDEO: Chairman Thompson Delivers Weekly Democratic Address
(WASHINGTON) – Chairman Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee discussed the urgent need for widespread testing, data on impact in communities of color and equipment for health care workers and first responders, as well as the Administration’s ongoing failure to adequately provide these critical resources for the American people. Video and audio of the … Continue Reading
April 14, 2020
DHS Inspector General Amends Public Summary of Report on Child Death in CBP Custody After Shortcomings Identified by Chairman Thompson
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, received notice from Joseph V. Cuffari, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that he had amended his office's public summary of a report examining the death of an eight-year-old Guatemalan child in U.S. Border Patrol custody in December 2018. Chairman Thompson has been sharply critical of how the Office of Inspector General (OIG) handled its investigation of … Continue Reading
April 10, 2020
Thompson Statement Marking One Year Since DHS Has Had a Permanent, Senate Confirmed Secretary
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement marking one year since the Department of Homeland Security has had a permanent, Senate confirmed leader. Since Kirstjen Nielsen left her position on April 10, 2019, the position has been filled by various officials serving in an acting capacity. "Our nation is in the middle of a pandemic, and the key national security agency charged with aiding our pandemic … Continue Reading
April 10, 2020
Engel, Thompson, Nadler Statement on Trump Administration’s Suspension of Asylum Processing
(WASHINGTON) - Reps. Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Jerrold L. Nadler, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, today issued the following statement calling on the Trump Administration to explain the legality of the decision to suspend the rights of asylum seekers in the United States: "We understand that certain restrictions for the public health are necessary to … Continue Reading
April 01, 2020
Thompson, Rice Call on ICE to Seek Alternatives to Detention for Migrants
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Subcomittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations, released the following statement calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to increase the use of alternatives for detention for migrants during the coronavirus outbreak. As of monday, there are at least four detainees who tested positive for COVID-19 in ICE detention … Continue Reading
March 27, 2020
Thompson Statement on Passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on House passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R. 748): "I commend the passage of the CARES Act, which will help our nation's workers and families, including the more than 200,000 Department of Homeland Security employees on the frontlines of this national emergency, during this unprecedented crisis. As the number of … Continue Reading
March 19, 2020
Thompson to DHS: Stop Issuing Mixed Messages on Immigration Enforcement During Coronavirus
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on the Trump Administration's mixed messaging on immigration enforcement during the coronavirus pandemic. Yesterday, DHS issued a notice suggesting in vague and ambiguous terms that ICE would delay enforcement actions to help combat the coronavirus. Today, however, Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli tweeted what he said was a "clarification" of … Continue Reading
March 18, 2020
Watchdog Report: May Never Know How Many Children Were Separated
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chair of the Judiciary Committee Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee, released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report they requested on the implementation of the Trump Administration's "zero tolerance" policy - which resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their parents at the Southwest Border. The report found that that we may … Continue Reading
March 17, 2020
Thompson and Rogers Send Message of Support to DHS Frontline Workforce
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Committee, released the below open letter to the frontline workforce of the Department of Homeland Security, thanking them for their continued service during the coronavirus pandemic to keep us safe: The nation is confronting the fact that the coronavirus (COVID-19) has begun to spread within the United States. As the Chairman and Ranking … Continue Reading
March 16, 2020
Chairs Thompson, DeFazio and Correa Call for DHS to Delay the REAL ID Act Implementation Deadline
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Lou Correa (D-CA), called on Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to delay the October 1, 2020, REAL ID Act implementation deadline. Citing the impact of COVID-19, the limited number of Americans with compliant identification, and the … Continue Reading
March 11, 2020
Thompson Applauds Cyberspace Solarium Commission Report
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement in response to the findings and recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission: "The Cyberspace Solarium Commission was created by Congress to review the threats facing America in cyberspace and provide strategic guidance and policy recommendations on how to defend ourselves against cyber threats. Today, it proposed a path forward to meet the … Continue Reading