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Press Releases

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


July 16, 2018

Thompson: Unwilling to Stop or Confront Putin, Trump Abandons Oath of Office

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Election Security, released the following statement on President Trump’s joint press conference in Helsinki with Putin today: “President Trump’s behavior in Helsinki today was a disgrace and a horrific embarrassment for the country. The spectacle should never have taken place. The President stood on the world stage and actively damaged … Continue Reading


July 13, 2018

Thompson Statement on Special Counsel Election Interference Indictments

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Election Security, released the following statement on Special Counsel Mueller’s 12 indictments related to Russia interfering in the 2016 Presidential Campaign: “Each month we get a clearer picture of Putin’s campaign to attack our democracy and interfere in the 2016 elections. While I am confident the truth will come out, we still have … Continue Reading


July 13, 2018

Ranking Member Thompson Statement on FEMA’s 2017 After Action Report

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on the release of the Administration’s 2017 Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report: "This report shows us what we have already known for almost a year: that the 2017 hurricane season was devastating for the country and markedly catastrophic for the people of Puerto Rico. FEMA was simply unprepared. While this reflection is welcome, this … Continue Reading


June 26, 2018

Ranking Member Thompson Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Trump’s Muslim Ban

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on news that the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s Muslim Ban on a narrow 5-4 decision: “The Supreme Court’s upholding of President Trump’s Muslim Ban sets a dangerous precedent. Trump’s Muslim Ban does not make us safer and flies in the face of our values and the Constitution. After having President Trump in the White House for 17 months, its clearer than … Continue Reading


June 26, 2018

Thompson, DeFazio Condemn Trump Plans to Divert Coast Guard Funding to Deportation Force

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, released the following joint statement on news reports that the Trump Administration plans to divert funds from the Coast Guard to Immigration and Customs Enforcement: “The Trump Administration has already proposed cutting the Coast Guard’s budget once, and now it wants to divert funds … Continue Reading


June 20, 2018

TOP JUDICIARY & HOMELAND DEMOCRATS CONDEMN TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER

(WASHINGTON) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler and House Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson, released the following joint statement on President Donald Trump’s family separation executive order: “Donald Trump created a humanitarian crisis when he mandated that children would be ripped from their parents’ arms in order to deter immigration. Trump is now trying to convince the American people that mandating indefinite detention of families … Continue Reading


June 19, 2018

Thompson Statement on Secretary Nielsen’s Sad Defense of the Child Separation Policy

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on Secretary Nielsen’s press briefing and attempt to defend the Administration’s child separation policy: “Secretary Nielsen’s attempt to do the White House’s bidding and defend President Trump’s horrific child separation policy was just the usual spectacle of lies, misstatements, and outright propaganda that we see from this Administration on a daily … Continue Reading


June 18, 2018

Ranking Member Thompson Visits South Texas Border Facilities

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement after visiting border facilities near Brownsville Texas today: “After visiting the South Texas border and seeing children separated from their parents firsthand, it is abundantly clear that President Trump must put an end to his family separation policy. As a Member of Congress, a grandfather, and an American, it is obvious to me that this horrific … Continue Reading


June 15, 2018

Thompson Statement on GOP Anti-Immigrant, Anti-Family Bill

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on House Republicans’ new immigration legislation: “Speaker Ryan’s immigration bill is nothing more than a cruel political exercise to rally the right and enshrine President Trump’s terrible and heartless anti-family immigration policies into law. This extreme bill does little to address crises of the President’s own creation—separating families and … Continue Reading


June 14, 2018

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Establish Puerto Rico Hurricanes Commission

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced legislation to establish a “9/11-style” independent commission to investigate the federal response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. Introduced in both chambers of Congress, the bill would create a commission charged with examining the federal government’s … Continue Reading


June 12, 2018

Thompson Statement on Mueller Indicating Election Meddling Ongoing

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Election Security, released the following statement on news from Special Counsel Robert Mueller that election meddling operations are still ongoing: “As Robert Mueller confirmed today, the threat to our elections from foreign interference persists and it is high time the White House wakes up and takes this threat seriously. Inaction will … Continue Reading


June 06, 2018

Republicans Reject ZTE Resolution

(WASHINGTON) - Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement after Committee Republicans rejected H.Res. 898, a Resolution of Inquiry sponsored by Ranking Member Thompson which would direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide all information and documentation it possesses related to the cybersecurity threats posed by the Chinese telecom corporation ZTE. ZTE has been considered a significant security … Continue Reading