Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen insisted Wednesday the crisis at the southern border is not manufactured, as she faced questions from Democrats for the first time since they took control of the House.
"We face a crisis_a real, serious, and sustained crisis at our borders," she said at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing. "Make no mistake: this chain of human misery is getting worse."
"To make matters worse, the administration bungled implementation of its cruel plan, losing track of children and even deporting parents to Central America without their children."
"There is an emergency," Nielsen said. "I have seen the vulnerable populations. This is a true humanitarian crisis that the system is enabling. We have to change the laws."