In response to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s consideration of the nomination of Chad Wolf as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Noah Gottschalk, Oxfam America’s Global Policy Lead, urged Senators to vote ‘no’ on the nomination and made the following statement:
“Acting Secretary Chad Wolf’s time at DHS has been marked by a barrage of anti-refugee, anti-immigrant, and anti-democratic actions which have harmed millions of families across the US. Senators now have the opportunity to consider this reprehensible record and decide whether to stand on the right side of history, or to use their vote to endorse further human rights violations.
“From children ripped from their parents’ arms at the border to asylum seekers forced back into harm's way, from federal agents without badges shoving racial justice protesters into unmarked vans to the shocking allegations of mass hysterectomies of women in ICE detention, DHS has been at the center of some of the most shameful moments in our country’s recent history. With Wolf at the helm, the agency has consistently trampled on the values Americans hold dear and violated US and international laws.
"This country was founded and enriched by immigrants and refugees over generations, helping to make us the nation we are today. Today, recent immigrants are working hand in hand with the children of yesterday’s immigrants on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, from doctors and nurses to grocery store clerks and postal carriers.
“Yet under Chad Wolf's leadership, the Department of Homeland Security has caused immeasurable harm to vulnerable people seeking safe haven from persecution and the opportunity to build a better life in the US. On his watch, a systematic culture of human rights abuse has taken hold in our nation’s immigration system that must be repudiated. As Senators reflect on this record, they must remember: a vote for Chad Wolf is a vote for continued human rights violations.”