Former congresswoman and DHS employee calls on Secretary Nielsen to resign in scathing letter

Kirstjen Nielsen.
(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Four members of a Department of Homeland Security advisory council resigned last week, calling the Trump administration's immigration policies "morally repugnant." But one of the now-former employees also sent DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen a personalized resignation letter, going even further in her caustic criticism.

"DHS has been transformed into an agency that is making war on immigrants and refugees," wrote Elizabeth Holtzman, a former Democratic congresswoman who was a co-author of the 1980 Refugee Act. She condemned the travel ban on Muslim-majority countries, the lack of support for DREAMers, and the "zero tolerance" policy that prosecutes any and all migrant crossing the border without authorization as "malign and ultimately self-destructive policies."

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.