DHS secretary asks Congress for new authority to send migrant kids to home countries

Kirstjen Nielsen.
(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security is "grappling with a humanitarian and security catastrophe that is worsening by the day," DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen wrote in a letter sent to Congress on Thursday, arguing she needs assistance dealing with the surge in migrants at the southern border.

In the letter, obtained by ABC News, Nielsen says the majority of migrants are families and unaccompanied minors "who pose a unique challenge to the system because most cannot be easily cared for, efficiently processed, or expeditiously removed, due to resource constraints and outdated laws."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.