Dem to Trump official: ‘White babies would not be treated the way these babies of color are being treated’

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Wednesday accused President Trump of advocating policies that would prevent people of color from entering the United States, arguing white children would not be treated the way children of color have been treated under his administration.

Green’s comments came as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified on Capitol Hill about a range of matters, including family separations that resulted from the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy at the southern border last year.

{mosads}“There are those who believe that we already have too many people of color in this country, and these — one of whom happens to be the president of the United States of America — would institute policies that will prevent people of color from coming to this country,” Green said.

“White babies would not be treated the way these babies of color are being treated,” he said.

“This is about color. We’ve opened our doors, ‘your tired, your poor … huddled masses yearning to breathe free,'” Green continued, citing a quote emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty. “Except we now have our quota of people of color.” 

Green joined other Democratic lawmakers who ripped into the Trump administration’s immigration and border security policies during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday, while Nielsen defended the administration’s actions.

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) at one point confronted Nielsen about whether the government still uses “cages” to hold children. 

“Sir, we don’t use cages for children,” Nielsen insisted. “To my knowledge, [Customs and Border Protection] never purposefully put a child in a cage, if you mean a cage like this.”

Green argued during his time at the mic that past administrations found way to accommodate asylum-seekers, pointing out that there were no family separations at Ellis Island.

“They didn’t build walls,” Green said.