Press Releases
IG Report: DHS Ignored the Law & Lied to Congress on Family Separation Policy
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General report on the Trump Administration’s implementation of its family separation and zero tolerance policies: “The Inspector General’s findings in this report are damning for the Administration. The report confirms that the Administration outright misled Congress and the American people … Continue Reading
September 27, 2018
Election Security Task Force Co-Chairs Call for Congressional Action following DEF CON Voting Village Report
(WASHINGTON) - Today, U.S. Representatives Robert A. Brady (D-PA) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), co-Chairs of the Congressional Task Force on Election Security, issued the following statement after the Voting Machine Hacking Village at DEF CON, the world's largest hacker conference, released a report demonstrating the serious vulnerabilities to our nation's voting systems: "Hackers at DEF CON have once again ably demonstrated that our voting systems are at grave risk. This year, they found … Continue Reading
September 26, 2018
Thompson Highlights Democratic Provisions in FAA Reauthorization
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following list of Democratic homeland security bills and priorities that were included in the final FAA Reauthorization Act (H.R. 302) that passed the House of Representatives today. Ranking Member Thompson released the following statement on the legislative package: “I am proud to announce that numerous security provisions in today’s legislation were originally ideas … Continue Reading
September 20, 2018
Thompson Statement on One Year Since Hurricane Maria Made Landfall
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement marking the one-year anniversary since Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: “Hurricane Maria was - by almost all accounts - the worst natural disaster this country has seen in over a century. We know that at least 2,975 perished and we know the recovery process will take years. Puerto Ricans, one year later, still … Continue Reading
September 13, 2018
Trump Attempting to Rewrite History Denying the Deaths of Thousands Means He Is Unfit to Serve
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on President Trump’s tweet this morning attempting to rewrite history denying the death of 2,975 in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria under his watch: “As we learn from news outlets that President Trump has now reached 5,000 lies and misstatements since taking office, he now lashes out on Twitter with his most hideous lie to date: the denial of the … Continue Reading
September 12, 2018
Top Democrats: Trump Executive Order on Election Interference Won’t Help States Protect Elections Against Future Attacks
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Robert A. Brady (D-PA), Committee on Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) issued the following statement after President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled, "Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election." "The steps outlined in today's Executive Order are far … Continue Reading
September 12, 2018
Thompson Statement on DHS Transferring Millions from FEMA to ICE
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on news that the Trump Administration has diverted $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention program: “This is yet another example of the Trump Administration’s outrageously misplaced homeland security priorities. We have a President who cares more about locking up … Continue Reading
September 11, 2018
Thompson Statement on the 17th Anniversary of September 11
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement commemorating the seventeenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks: “Seventeen years ago, our country was forever changed as we lost 2,996 lives in the face of terror and hate. Although this anniversary will always bring with it the sorrow and pain of that day, it allows us to honor and remember those who lost their lives and recognize the … Continue Reading
September 05, 2018
Thompson Statement on News TSA Will Re-open Air Cargo Security Division
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on news that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will re-open its air cargo security division: “Today’s announcement by TSA Administrator Pekoske that he would establish a dedicated air cargo security unit is welcomed news. I have been advocating for TSA to give air cargo security the attention it deserves. Last summer, I issued a staff … Continue Reading
August 29, 2018
Thompson Statement on Trump Calling Hurricane Maria Response ‘Fantastic’
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on President Trump’s comments today on the Federal government’s response to Hurricane Maria: “The President’s comments today on Puerto Rico are simply not based in reality. The Federal response to Hurricane Maria cannot, in any fashion, be described as ‘fantastic’. The President contradicts his own Administration’s 2017 Hurricane Season After-Action … Continue Reading
August 28, 2018
Thompson Statement on New Hurricane Maria Death Toll Study
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on news reports of a George Washington University study, commissioned by the Governor of Puerto Rico, estimating the death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico at 2,975, now the official death count: “It is depressing that on the week of 13th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we have received yet another study on the death toll from Hurricane Maria … Continue Reading
August 24, 2018
Thompson Announces Expansion of Nonprofit Security Grant Program
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, announced that, for the first time, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has awarded $10 million in anti-terrorism security grants through its Nonprofit Security Grant Program to institutions outside of jurisdictions funded by the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). Ranking Member Thompson has long advocated to make non-profit organizations and religious … Continue Reading
August 06, 2018
GAO Report: Trump’s Wall Set to Waste Billions, Provide No Measurable Benefit
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee, announced the release of a new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report they requested on President Trump’s completely unnecessary and wasteful border wall. In the report, entitled “Southwest Border Security: CBP Is Evaluating Designs and Locations for Border Barriers but Is … Continue Reading
August 03, 2018
Thompson: Secret Service Security Breach Must Be Fully Investigated
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on media reports of a suspected spy working for the U.S. Secret Service in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow: “News reports of a suspected Russian spy working for the U.S. Secret Service at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow are deeply troubling and must be fully investigated. Not only does this expose the lengths that Russia is willing to go to interfere in our … Continue Reading
August 03, 2018
Trump Administration Passing the Buck on Finding Parents of Separated Children
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement on the Trump Administration’s latest proposal to have the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its partners be responsible for finding the parents, already deported by the Administration, of children at the border that have been separated from their families. “The indifference and passivity that the Trump Administration is putting into their … Continue Reading
August 02, 2018
Reps. Thompson, DeFazio Urge TSA to Continue Passenger Screenings at Small Airports
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, today urged Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Pekoske to continue passenger screenings at small and medium-sized airports across the United States. “There is no need to curtail security screenings and put Americans at risk when funding shortfalls can be addressed with a simple … Continue Reading
July 27, 2018
Thompson Statement on the Administration’s Failure to Reunify Separated Families by Deadline
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on the Trump Administration's failure to reunify separated children with their families despite the court-mandated deadline of midnight last night: "The Administration's spin about its compliance with the court ordered mandate to reunite separated migrant families by midnight last night is completely unbelievable and unacceptable. Hundreds of these … Continue Reading
July 27, 2018
Top Democrats Demand President Lay Out a Plan to Act After Today’s Election Security National Security Council Meeting
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Reps. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Robert A. Brady (D-PA), Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Members of the House Committees on Homeland Security, House Administration, Oversight & Government Reform, and the Judiciary, released the below statement following news that President Trump, in an apparent about face, is holding a National Security Council meeting on election security today. The members demand the President use the meeting as an … Continue Reading
July 19, 2018
Trump Administration Briefings Reveal No Plan to Reunite Children Before Sessions Announced “Zero Tolerance” Policy
(WASHINGTON) - Yesterday, in a seemingly coordinated attempt to quell widespread criticism of President Donald Trump’s child separation policy and his Administration’s failure to reunite these children with their parents, the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services conducted three separate briefings at 11 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm for the Committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, and Homeland Security, respectively. In response, Ranking Members … Continue Reading
July 18, 2018
Thompson Statement on Republican Sham Resolution
(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement on H.Res. 990, a non-binding resolution brought up by House Republicans. The resolution, driven by partisan politics, does nothing to fix our immigration system or help reunite families. “With this sham resolution, it is clear House Republicans just want to change the subject after President Trump’s disastrous summit in Helsinki where he refused to … Continue Reading