Kelly: I should have delayed travel ban

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said Tuesday he should have delayed President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily banning travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. And he blamed himself for failing to consult with Congress.

“In retrospect, I should have, and this is all on me, by the way, I should have delayed it just a bit so I could talk to members of Congress… to prepare them for what was coming,” he said during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee.


“The thinking was to get it out quick so that potentially people that might be coming here to harm us would not take advantage of some period of time they could jump on an airplane and get here,” he said.

The ban, which has been halted by a restraining order from a federal judge, is facing multiple court challenges. The chairman of the panel, GOP lawmaker Michael McCaul, slammed the rollout as "problematic" in his opening remarks.

“It caused confusion here in Congress, across the country and around the world,” McCaul said. “And it caused real problems for people with lawful green cards and visas, who in some cases were already in the air when the order was signed.”

Congressman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, asked Kelly if problems with vetting immigrants have emerged since the executive order has been paused.

“Not until they act and blow something up, or go into a mall and kill people,” Kelly said. “We won’t know until then.”

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) said there was “no evidence” that any person from the countries included in the ban had committed a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

“I’m not going to base my protection, my view of protecting the American people on hoping they will never come here and commit a terrorist act “ Kelly said.

Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) pressed Kelly about whether a nearly 2,000-mile wall on the U.S.-Mexico border would be worthwhile.

“There’s no one single solution, but for sure, in my opinion, barriers and patrolling of the southwest border is a big part of it,” Kelly said.

Vela told Kelly he "forcefully" rejected the idea of the wall, which would separate the U.S. from a major trading partner.

"I don’t see any other option,” Kelly said, stressing the need for a combination of barriers and technology. “It is a gaping wound in our defenses. Drugs, people, the whole bit. So we’ve got to do something down there.”

Ted Hesson contributed reporting.