President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kirstjen Nielsen, says she will “clarify” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents not to target illegal aliens who do not have a violent criminal background.

In a hearing last week, Nielsen repeatedly conceded to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) that she would issue a directive to ICE agents to make sure that illegal aliens who have no other crime on their record besides entering the U.S. illegally are not targeted for priority deportation.

Nielsen told Harris:

HARRIS: And it has been widely reported that between January and September of this year, ICE arrested nearly three times the number of individuals with no criminal history, as compared to the same period last year. If DHS is, in fact, focused as you have indicated and, if confirmed, under your leadership, on true criminals, it is clear that the frontline officers have a different impression. And so, if confirmed, will you issue a written directive to the agents that they prioritize enforcement activities in a way that targets criminals who pose a public safety threat and not DREAMers or DACA recipients? NIELSEN: Yes, although I will say, understand that to be the current policy. But if there’s any question about it, we will clarify. [Emphasis added]

Nielsen’s statements directly contradict previous statements made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has made clear that if individuals are illegally in the U.S., they are subject to deportation.

“Everybody in the country illegally is subject to being deported, so people come here and they stay here a few years and somehow they think they are not subject to being deported – well, they are,” Sessions previously said in April.

Nielsen made the concession to Harris before also conceding that either she or ICE Acting Director Homan would issue a directive that made clear the policy not to target illegal aliens who are enrolled in the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or those who have no violent crime history.

HARRIS: OK, and in particular, will you agree to issuing a written directive to the agents, that that is the policy of the agency?



NIELSEN: Yes, I would. Or if appropriate, Acting-Director Homan would.

In her confirmation hearing, Nielsen confirmed her pro-amnesty, mass immigration views by saying that it is the United States’ responsibility to legalize DACA illegal aliens.

“I believe that we must and we owe it to them to find a permanent solution,” she said of passing a DACA amnesty that could potentially lead to a chain migration of 9.9 million to 19 million foreign nationals pouring into the U.S. legally. “It’s no way to expect anyone to live a month or two months at a time,” said Nielsen, even though the DACA work-permits each last for two years.

Nielsen was confirmed today in an 11-4 vote by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Committee, with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) saying he hopes Nielsen is approved by the full Senate “as quickly as possible.”

The president NumbersUSA –an organization that advocates for less immigration – Roy Beck told Axios that Nielsen’s concessions on amnesty, DACA, and illegal immigration have reduced the Trump administration’s leverage on the immigration issue.

“This doesn’t strike me as being from the art of negotiations book, does it?” Beck told Axios.