The DHS secretary says she doesn’t know how many children are detained at the border


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
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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