Mulvaney Defends Trump Family Separation Policy, Questions Remain About Kraninger Role

CFPB “Acting Director” Mick Mulvaney Defends Monstrous Policy Separating Children from Their Families and Denies They Were Being Held In Cages


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Mick Mulvaney defended President Trump’s policy of separating children from their families and denied they were been held in cages despite images from journalists that show otherwise. The defense comes just two days after Trump CFPB Director nominee Kathy Kraninger was asked by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to come clean on her role in the development and implementation of the policy as a top budgetary official under Mulvaney at OMB.

It’s time for Kathy Kraninger to come clean and produce the documents Sens. Brown and Warren requested yesterday.  If President Trump’s nominee for America’s chief consumer advocate was involved in the development and implementation of this horrific policy separating children from their families, we have a right to know. It speaks to her very character – or lack thereof – that we are still waiting for answers,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress.

He continued, “Regardless of what Mick Mulvaney may say, the Trump Administration’s policy of tearing children away from their families and failing to plan for their unification is inhumane.  It speaks volumes about the type of man Mulvaney is that that he would defend this cruelty. This callous disregard for those in need of help is at the center of who he is as a public official.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

  • Mick Mulvaney refused to acknowledge that separating families at the border is wrong, instead saying the US should have a “zero tolerance” policy. Mick Mulvaney refused to agree that separating children from their parents at the border is inhumane. He implied that the US legal system was operating correctly when parents accused of crimes are separated from their children. Mick Mulvaney argued that families being separated at the border is not an issue of “‘humane or inhumane,'” but rather an issue about having “‘zero tolerance'” for criminal behavior. [Laura J. Keller Tweet, Twitter, 06/20/18; Tanaya Macheel Tweet, Twitter, 06/20/18]
  • Mick Mulvaney denied that separated children were held in cages, even though a Senator had seen those very cages first hand. Mick Mulvaney encouraged a journalist to visit a detention center for unaccompanied minors, insisting that children there aren’t held in “‘cages.'” Senator Jeff Merkley did visit and said that there were indeed children in cages. [Laura J. Keller Tweet, Twitter, 06/20/18; Susannah Cullinane, “Inside Border Protection’s processing detention center: Chain link fences and thermal blankets,CNN, 06/18/18]
  • The Trump Administration has lied about the fact this policy is their doing, instead blaming Democrats. While Donald Trump has blamed Democrats for families being separated at the border, these separations began after his own administration referred all border crossings for federal criminal prosecution. The Trump Administration has claimed the law compels them to separate families at the border, but those claims are not accurate. [David Jackson, “President Trump continues to blame Democrats for his family separation approach on immigration,USA Today, 06/19/18; Maya Rhodan, “Here Are the Facts About President Trump’s Family Separation Policy,Time, 06/20/18; Salvador Rizzo, “The facts about Trump’s policy of separating families at the border,The Washington Post, 06/19/18]
  • Kathy Kraninger’s fingerprints are likely all over this policy. Kathy Kraninger was likely involved in implementing the Trump Administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border. This involvement would have been in her official capacity at OMB. Kraninger has budgetary oversight of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, and OMB has oversight of the policy change that prompted families to be separated at the border. [Kate Berry, “CFPB nominee likely connected to Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy,American Banker, 06/19/18]
  • Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown sent a letter demanding information about what role Kathy Kraninger may have had in Trump’s “Zero Tolerance” immigration policy. Senator Elizabeth Warren, noting that Kathy Kraninger “served as a top White House budget official with oversight of DOJ and DHS,” requested information about the role she may have played in the implementation and development of the Trump Administration’s Zero Tolerance Policy. This includesinformation about any related role at OMB she may have held, any documents she produced, and any correspondences she had with DOJ, DHS, or figures like Stephen Miller in helping Trump to separate families. [Letter from Sen. Warren to Kathy Kraninger, 06/18/18]

# # #

Close

SITE ARCHIVED

Allied Progress is now Accountable.US. This website will no longer be updated and has been permanently archived. For the latest accountability and transparency updates, please visit us at Accountable.US.