Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen called for the construction of a border wall and stronger laws to crack down on asylum seekers in order to solve what she described as a "humanitarian catastrophe" at the U.S.-Mexico border. But she apparently did not come to the hearing prepared with some crucial information.
During her questioning, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-N.Y.), asked Nielsen how many children were currently in detention at immigration centers along the border. Nielsen did not have that number "in front of" her. She did say that the census data was available and she would provide Jackson Lee with the information. Watch the exchange below. Tim O'Donnell
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resortUnder the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all timeThe Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
Crossword: July 10, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
