Rep. Luis Gutierrez lashed out Tuesday at White House Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly for his role in ending protections for children brought to the U.S. illegally.
“General Kelly is a hypocrite who is a disgrace to the uniform he used to wear. He has no honor and should be drummed out of the White House along with the white supremacists and those enabling the President’s actions by ’just following orders,’ ” Mr. Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat, said in a statement.
He also accused Mr. Kelly of lying to his caucus about protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, also known as “Dreamers.”
“General Kelly, when he was the head of Homeland Security, lied straight to the faces of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about preventing the mass deportation of DREAMers. Now as Chief of Staff, this former general is executing the plan to take away their lifeline and taking steps to criminalize young people who live and work here legally,” Mr. Gutierrez said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, defended Mr. Kelly on Wednesday, saying that Mr. Gutierrez was very emotional about immigration reform.
“The slander against General Kelly says more about Mr. Gutierrez than it does General Kelly. And what Luis Gutierrez says or does is not going to be outcome-determinative. General Kelly will be a leader here. Name one person in the country more qualified to talk about border security than John Kelly,” Mr. Graham said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the end of former President Barack Obama’s program on Tuesday with a six-month delay. Both he and President Trump have called on Congress to propose a law with similar protections since Republicans argue the DACA policy as it stood was unconstitutional.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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