House Oversight Committee chair Elijah Cummings (D-MD) tore into acting secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan on Thursday for the Trump administration’s failure to properly care for the migrant children coming from the southern border.
In a caustic and at times emotional speech, Cummings excoriated McAleenan for the filthy detention facilities migrant children are forced to live in under President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, along with the aftereffects of Trump’s now-repealed family separation policy.
“I guess you feel like you’re doing a great job, right?” Cummings asked McAleenan witheringly.
“We’re doing our level best in a very challenging-” McAleenan responded before the Oversight chairman cut him off.
“What does that mean?” Cummings snapped. “What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower?”
“Come on, man. What’s that about?” he continued, his voice rising as McAleenan sat stone-faced. “None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings!”
Cummings told McAleenan furiously, “It’s not the deed that you do to a child, it’s the memory. It’s the memory.”
Watch Cummings below:
Rep. Elijah Cummings shreds the acting DHS chief Kevin McAleenan over migrant detention center conditions pic.twitter.com/T74QohYYdd
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 18, 2019
