Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

A leading Senate Democrat is calling on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kirstjen Nielsen to resign, following the release of a government watchdog report finding that the Trump administration stole thousands more children under the “zero tolerance” policy than was previously known. “No one has been held accountable for this humanitarian disaster at our southern border,” Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said. “DHS Secretary Nielsen should accept responsibility for this outrage and resign.”

While the administration said that more than 2,500 children had been kidnapped under the 2018 policy, the Office of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General has confirmed that officials were separating families long before that. "How many more children were separated is unknown by us and HHS,” the OIG said Thursday. According to NBC News, “some may have been released to family or nonrelative sponsors, but it is not known how many have been reunified.”

Newly empowered House Democrats weighed in on this humanitarian disaster. “I have been seeking information that would help reunify these children since last year, but the Trump administration refuses to comply,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who now leads the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. “As Chairman, I will do everything in my power to obtain the documents I’ve requested to ensure the administration is held accountable for this callous and immoral policy.”