Immigration Takes Center Stage While US Senate Confronts Trump Nominees Julia Edwards Ainsley - Reuters
go to original January 10, 2017

Donald Trump's Cabinet: How Nominees Get Confirmed (Wall Street Journal)

Update: How Donald Trump’s Cabinet Nominees Contradicted Him (TIME)

Immigration and domestic security, key themes in Donald Trump’s successful campaign, will likely dominate two U.S. Senate hearings on Tuesday as lawmakers begin several days of questioning the president-elect’s Cabinet nominees.

First to appear before lawmakers will be Trump’s pick for attorney general, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Sessions, a close ally of Trump, helped shape his pro-enforcement, anti-amnesty policy on illegal immigration.

Next will be John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general tapped to head the Department of Homeland Security. In earlier congressional testimony, Kelly characterized inadequate policing of the U.S.-Mexico border as a national security threat.

Both men will face questions from Democrats and Republicans seeking specifics on Trump’s plans following his Jan. 20 inauguration to crack down on illegal immigration – an issue central to his explosion onto the political scene, but on which he has since wavered in some ways.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, force Mexico to pay for it and deport 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.

But since he was elected president on Nov. 8, the New York businessman has said part of the wall could be a fence, Congress should fund it with the expectation that Mexico will repay U.S. taxpayers, and that he will focus on deporting immigrants with criminal records and later decide what to do with others.

Both Sessions and Kelly will be major players in immigration policy. In addition to counterterrorism, the Homeland Security secretary oversees immigration enforcement and has discretion over which categories of immigrants are arrested and deported.

Read the rest at National Memo

Related: 9 Takeaways from Rex Tillerson’s Confirmation Hearing to be Trump’s Secretary of State (The Daily Signal)

Related: DHS Pick Appears to Split with Trump on Waterboarding, Downplays Border Wall (CNN)

Related: Here's What Happened the Last Time Jeff Sessions Went Before the Senate for Confirmation (The Huffington Post)

Related: The Three Most Dreaded Words for Trump Nominees in Their Confirmation Hearings: ‘Donald Trump Said …’ (The Washington Post)

Related: The President-Elect Has Said He'll Scrap NAFTA, Deport Millions, and Build a Wall. How Should Mexico React? (TIME)

Related: Mexican Government, Trade Unions Mobilize Against Protests to Pave the Way for Trump (WSWS.org)

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