Trump: 'Grabber' migrants used children as human shields at border

At a Monday night roundtable in Mississippi on his bipartisan criminal justice reform effort, President Trump charged that some migrants he identified as "grabbers" who rushed the San Ysidro, Calif., point of entry on Sunday essentially used children as human shields at the border.
"We've had some very violent people, and we don't want, frankly, those people in our society," Trump said at the Biloxi event, which included Mississippi law enforcement officials and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. "We don't want those people in our country. Three Border Patrol people yesterday were very badly hurt, getting hit with rocks and stones."
Earlier Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan said four agents wearing protective gear were hit with rocks during an "extremely dangerous situation," but were not badly hurt.
The president turned to the widely circulated images from Sunday's episode, which showed some migrants running away with children as tear gas canisters landed nearby. Videos and images from the port of entry also showed migrants throwing what appeared to be rocks over the fence and attempting to breach the wall.
"I do say -- why are they there? First of all, the tear gas is a very minor form of the tear gas itself -- it's very safe, the ones that were suffering to a certain extent were the people that were putting it out there. But you really say, why is a parent running up into an area where they know the tear gas is forming, and it's going to be formed, and they're running up with a child?"
BORDER PATROL UNDER OBAMA PEPPER-SPRAYED MIGRANTS AT SAME PORT OF ENTRY IN 2013
McAleenan said Monday that at least 69 people were detained after they crossed the border on Sunday, and that he was not aware of any that managed to cross and evade capture by U.S. authorities.
Trump continued: "In some cases, you know, they're not the parents. These are people, they call 'em 'grabbers' -- they grab the child, because they think they're gonna have a certain status by having a child. You know, you have certain advantages and things with our crazy laws that frankly Congress should be changing. You know, if you change the laws, you wouldn't have this problem."

 That was an apparent reference to Trump's longstanding criticism of the Flores consent decree, made amid litigation during former President Bill Clinton's administration, that ostensibly limits the amount of time that federal authorities can detain illegal immigrant minors who are caught along with their parents.
After the president instituted a zero-tolerance policy that all illegal immigrants should be referred for criminal prosecution, administration officials argued that the Flores decree legally prevented them from keeping adults and children in custody together for more than two weeks. Amid fierce criticism, Trump signed an executive order this summer barring family separations at the border, although it remains subject to legal challenges.
WATCH: HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS ATTEMPT TO STORM PORT OF ENTRY IN SAN YSIDRO
The president clarified that "they feel an advantage when they're with a young child. ... They call 'em grabbers, that's a term I've heard. ... They grab a child, because when they have a child, they feel a lot safer. ... When you know there's going to be potential violence, you know there's going to be tear gas or something -- you don't take your child and bring them there. I can say that all over the border, you have a lot of grabbers, you have a lot of people who grab children, and they have no idea who these children are. They're not parents. They have no idea. And frankly to release the children to these people is a disaster."
In a statement late Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen backed up Trump's comments.

"They grab a child, because when they have a child, they feel a lot safer."
— President Trump

"It appears in some cases that the limited number of women and children in the caravan are being used by the organizers as 'human shields' when they confront law enforcement," Nielsen said. "They are being put at risk by the caravan organizers as we saw at the Mexico-Guatemala border. This is putting vulnerable people in harms way."
At the White House earlier in the day, Trump similarly defended the Border Patrol authorities who fired the tear gas.
"They had to use it; they were being rushed by some very tough people," Trump said. "And so they used tear gas. Here's the bottom line: No one's coming into our country unless they come in legally."
The situation Sunday was not unprecedented. In 2013, during the Obama administration, Border Patrol agents used pepper spray to fend off a crowd of approximately 100 migrants who attempted to rush the San Ysidro port of entry. The migrants in that episode also reportedly threw rocks and bottles at U.S. authorities.
Homeland Security data show that, in the final years of the Obama administration, tear gas was deployed at the border approximately once per month.
Nevertheless, prominent Democrats lined up to hammer the administration on Monday, as images of migrants fleeing tear gas fumes circulated. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for example, called the use of tear gas “horrendous.”
Other analysts suggested that a rework of the immigration system might be necessary to dissuade similar efforts by members of any future migrant caravans without encouraging clandestine migration. John Cerone, a visiting professor of international law at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, told Fox News that he would recommend "the creation of new visa categories that people can apply for without having to physically come to the U.S. first."
At the roundtable, Trump said the episode at the border Sunday highlighted the importance of building a robust border wall.
"The only little breach yesterday, we took care of it very nicely and quickly and apprehended those who breached, was in one area where the wall wasn't quite built yet -- it wasn't completed," Trump said. "When people look at what's going on at the border, they agree ... with what we're doing, very strongly."
The president said he would have no reservations about closing the entire southern border, saying any implications on trade only would encourage Mexico to get a handle on the migrant situation there. Trump also noted specifically that some Mexican police officials had been harmed.
"I'll close it for a long time," Trump said. "And as far as trade, I'm not concerned, because Mexico has done very well with trade with the United States."
He added: "I suspect because of how well the country's doing, we have a lot more people [coming]. This isn't happening by luck. Something's happening in Honduras, and Guatemala and El Salvador -- you look how organized it is. They're handing out papers."
In her statement Monday night, Nielsen, the DHS head, said that "the overwhelming majority" of caravan members "are not eligible for asylum in the United States under our laws."
Calling the episode Monday "entirely predictable," Nielsen said DHS has confirmed that "there are over 600 convicted criminals traveling with the caravan flow," including "individuals known to law enforcement for assault, battery, drug crimes, burglary, rape, child abuse and more." She added that Mexico had already arrested at least 100 caravan migrants.

"Seeking employment or family reunification are not grounds for asylum under our laws."
— Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

"Most of these migrants are seeking jobs or to join family who are already in the U.S.," Nielsen said. "They have all refused multiple opportunities to seek protection in Mexico or with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Seeking employment or family reunification are not grounds for asylum under our laws, or any international obligation."
The primary purpose of the roundtable Monday was to discuss the so-called First Step Act, the first major rewrite of the nation's criminal justice sentencing laws in a generation, which would boost rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and give judges more discretion when sentencing nonviolent offenders, particularly for drug offenses.
In particular, the proposed bill lowers the mandatory minimum sentence for non-violent repeat drug offenders from 25 to 20 years, reduces mandatory minimums for other crimes from 20 to 15 years, and makes no distinction between powder cocaine and crack cocaine.
Trump highlighted recent criminal justice reform efforts in Texas, Kentucky, and Georgia, and said "a lot of people have changed their minds" on the topic.
"If you look at some of the people who are most supportive of this," Trump said, "it's very impressive. People that are really into the world of strength and law and order, and they're totally supporitve of this, as much as anybody."
WHAT IS THE STEP ACT, TRUMP'S MAJOR BIPARTISAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM INITIATIVE?
The roundtable took place just an hour before Trump's second campaign rally of the day in Mississippi to support incumbent GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is facing off in Tuesday's special election runoff against Democrat Mike Espy.

Trump, at Mississippi rallies ahead of pivotal Senate special election, touts border security and NASA

With just hours to go before a pivotal special election in Mississippi that will determine the strength of the GOP's Senate majority next year, President Trump on Monday evening touted NASA's Mars landing, vowed to redouble his border security efforts, and accused some caravan migrants of using children as human shields.
His comments came at a fiery rally in Tupelo, Miss. for incumbent GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is facing off in Tuesday's special election runoff against Democrat Mike Espy, and at a roundtable shortly afterwards. Trump later held another rally in Biloxi hours later Monday evening, underscoring the importance of the race for Senate Republicans.
In keeping with the Christmas spirit, Trump entered the second rally through a wall that appeared to look like a chimney as fake snow rained down from above.
Voting for Hyde-Smith is "so important," Trump told the cheering crowd in Tupelo, as Republicans look to expand their Senate majority to 53 seats.
In between the Tupelo and Biloxi rallies, Trump attended a roundtable with Mississippi law enforcement leaders on his bipartisan criminal justice reform effort. There, he charged that some migrants -- whom he identified as "grabbers" -- rushed the San Ysidro, Calif., point of entry on Sunday, essentially using children as human shields at the border. In a statement late Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen backed up Trump's comments.
TRUMP, DHS ACCUSE MIGRANTS OF USING CHILDREN AS HUMAN SHIELDS AT THE BORDER
Hyde-Smith was appointed in March to fill retired Republican Sen. Thad Cochran's seat, and is now seeking to finish out the last two years of his term. Espy, who served in former President Bill Clinton's administration, is seeking to become Mississippi's first black senator since Reconstruction.
"Your vote on Tuesday will decide whether we build on our extraordinary achievements, or whether we empower the radical Democrats to obstruct our progress," Trump said.
The president was joined on stage at one point by South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who told him he has "done a hell of a job."

"We're sending a clear message to the caravans, to the trespassers -- go back home."
— President Trump

"If you like [Supreme Court Justice Brett] Kavanuagh, there's more coming," Graham, one of Kavanaugh's staunchest defenders during his Senate confirmation hearings earlier in the year, told the crowd. "Let's win tomorrow." (The Senate has exclusive authority to confirm all federal judicial appointments.)
The president briefly pivoted to discuss Sunday's confrontation at the border, when hundreds of caravan migrants rushed the port of entry at San Ysidro, Calif., and were dispersed with tear gas from U.S. Border Patrol authorities.
"Are we doing OK on the border, folks?" Trump said to cheers of "Build that wall."
"We're not going to have it -- you've got to come into our country legally," Trump said. "We have a lot of [the wall] built, and it's going up. And the rest of it -- it's pretty nasty looking wire, isn't it? We're doing well."
He added: "We're not letting people into our country unless they come in legally -- and we want people to come in through merit. We have great companies coming into our country. We need workers. We want them to come in. But they have to be talented people who can love our country -- they have to come in through merit, not through a [visa] lottery."
Criticizing migrants who waved their home country's flags and threw rocks at U.S. officials -- even as they sought entry into the U.S. -- Trump unequivocally condemned Sunday's attempted incursion at San Ysidro.
"We will not tolerate any form of assault or attack upon our border agents, like happened yesterday," Trump said. "We're sending a clear message to the caravans, to the trespassers -- go back home."
He then touted historically low African-American unemployment rates and told the crowd that "we made history" on Election Day "by expanding our Senate majority."
For her part, Hyde-Smith said she was "honored" by Trump's visit and emphasized her support for the Second Amendment and the president's judicial nominees.
"I've worked very, very hard for you," Hyde-Smith told the crowd. "I will stand for your conservative values, and that is what is on the ballot tomorrow."

"We have reawakened NASA. And that's a good thing."
— President Trump

WATCH: HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS RUSH PORT OF ENTRY AT SAN YSIDRO, MET WITH TEAR GAS
After discussing his plans for a Space Force, Trump highlighted the historic landing of a NASA spacecraft on Mars earlier in the day.
"Today, we just landed on Mars, did you hear that?" Trump said. "They were celebrating at NASA. We have reawakened NASA. And that's a good thing." He added: "A lot of the rich guys like rockets. So we charge them rent. Just make sure you have an American flag on the rocket."
He then immediately turned to the Iran nuclear deal, which he called "one-sided" and pulled the U.S. out of earlier this year, and touted his decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Large crowds gathered hours in advance of the rally at Tupelo Regional Airport, where GOP Rep. Trent Kelly led supporters in a chant of "Build the wall" as Air Force One approached for landing.
The president carried Mississippi over Hillary Clinton by nearly 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election, and GOP Sen. Roger Wicker won re-election by a similar margin earlier in the month.
Hyde-Smith also remains popular among black Mississippi Republicans, according to local reports.
But Trump cautioned voters not to make assumptions or stay home. "Don't take any chances," he warned the crowd in Tupelo Monday evening.
And Democrats have seen some cause for optimism in recent weeks, fueled by a series of missteps by Hyde-Smith.
The incumbent Republican lawmaker was recorded during a campaign stop saying that if a supporter invited her to a "public hanging," she would be in "the front row.” She has since said her comment was made in jest and denied any racial connotation.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House earlier Monday before flying to Mississippi, Trump said Hyde-Smith "felt very badly, and she certainly didn't mean that, and she's already apologized and I think very strongly."
He said her comments were "taken a certain way, but she certainly didn't mean it."
"I've known her for a period of time now as a senator -- she's been an excellent senator," Trump said. "I'm going there -- I'm going to make, I guess, two rallies on top of everything else. And I hope you're all coming."
Amid fallout from those remarks, Major League Baseball asked that Hyde-Smith return the organization’s $5,000 donation. Other organizations have made similar requests.
Hyde-Smith also co-sponsored a bill in the Mississippi state Senate in 2007 that would have honored a former Confederate soldier for his efforts to "defend his homeland."
The resolution, which was first reported over the weekend, called a Mississippi resident identified as Effie Lucille Nicholson Pharr "the last known living 'Real Daughter' of the Confederacy living in Mississippi" and praised her father's work to "defend his homeland."

Rep. Elijah Cummings Cartoons

Rep. Elijah Cummings says he won’t share subpoena powers with Oversight Committee

OAN Newsroom
8:39 PM PT – Sun. Nov. 25, 2018

The man who’s expected to be the next Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee responds to republicans.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (AP/Photo)

In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today, Representative Elijah Cummings announced he will not be giving subpoena powers to the Committee’s ranking minority member, a republican.
The Maryland democrat previously served as ranking minority member and was not allowed to issue subpoenas.
However, with his new authority, Cummings says he doesn’t plan to abuse his powers, and added “we’re going to be very careful with issuing subpoenas…” to make sure it’s done with “integrity.”
Cummings also said he already had a list of dozens of subpoenas he plans on issuing which could focus on a number of topics, including drug prices and voting rights.

Trump to rally for Hyde-Smith in Mississippi ahead of Senate runoff election

Trump to campaign for Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith who is locked in a tight race with Democrat Mike Espy; analysis from Michael Meehan, former chief of staff for Sen. Cantwell, and Alex Conant, former communications director for Sen. Marco Rubio.

President Trump is headed for Mississippi on Monday to rally support for GOP U.S. Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith ahead of Tuesday's runoff election against Democratic opponent Mike Espy.
Neither candidate secured the requisite 50 percent of votes during their Nov. 6 election.
Hyde-Smith may well need the president's support. She has been facing intense scrutiny recently over having attended a white private school that was founded after court-ordered school desegregation of public schools.
Hyde-Smith also ignited controversy after she was seen in a photo wearing a replica hat of a Confederate soldier and in a video praising a supporter by saying: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.”
Hyde-Smith has apologized for the remark but Espy, an African-American and former congressman, has used the comment as fodder during his campaign.
"Here's what you're not going to get from me: You're not going to hear any talk about voter suppression. You're not going to hear any talk about public hanging," Espy said.

Democrat Mike Espy answers a question during a televised Mississippi U.S. Senate debate with his opponent appointed U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018.  (Associated Press)

But Espy is facing some ethical questions as well. The Democrat worked for a company that paid $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit concerning the bribing of officials in a bid to score lucrative contracts with the state prison.
In addition, the former lobbyist and U.S. agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton collected $750,000 after lobbying on behalf of an African despot currently on trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
Trump will make at least two stops on Monday: In the afternoon in Tupelo – the birthplace of Elvis Presley – and in the evening in Biloxi, at a larger rally at the Coast Coliseum at 8 p.m, the Clarion Ledger reported.
Tuesday's runoff election will conclude the 2018 midterms. The winner will finish the final two years of a term started by GOP Sen. Thad Cochran, who resigned in April for health reasons.
DEMOCRAT MISSISSIPPI SENATE HOPEFUL MISLED ABOUT $750G LOBBYING CONTRACT WITH AFRICAN DESPOT
Hyde-Smith has established herself as an inveterate supporter of the president. Trump has previously thanked Hyde-Smith for voting for “our Agenda in the Senate 100% of the time.”
The runoff between Hyde-Smith and Espy has drawn comparisons to last year's special election in which Democrat Doug Jones defeated the scandal-plagued Republican Roy Moore to fill Jeff Sessions' vacated seat.
MISSISSIPPI DEMOCRAT SENATE HOPEFUL UNDER FIRE FOR WORK FOR COMPANY THAT HAD TO PAY $2.5M TO SETTLE BRIBERY CASE
Hyde-Smith's remarks have prompted several organizations -- including Major League Baseball and Walmart -- to withdraw their financial support. Still, strategists believe Hyde-Smith is poised to win given Mississippi's historically conservative leanings: It has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982 and Trump received 58 percent of the state's vote during the 2016 presidential election.
According to a poll conducted last week by RRH Elections, Hyde-Smith was leading Espy by 10 points.
Monday's Biloxi rally is anticipated to draw hundreds of protesters, the Hill reported. The Mississippi Rising Coalition, a self-described "human & civil rights groups" has created an event dubbed the "Battle of Biloxi Protest," which will reportedly be held Monday near the rally venue. As of Sunday evening, the event had 318 "interested" participants and 106 "going," according to its page.

Democrat Kamala Harris could lose seat on Senate Judiciary Committee, report says

Seen as a potential 2020 presidential contender, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., garnered attention during Brett Kavanaugh's initial confirmation hearing with her intense questioning. (Associated Press)

Reducing the size of the 21-member Senate Judiciary Committee is reportedly among the actions being considered by Senate Republicans as they prepare for the next Congress.
If that happens, Sen. Kamala Harris of California -- a high-profile Democrat who is considered a possible candidate for her party’s 2020 presidential nomination -- could be left off the panel, according to a report.
That’s because the first-term senator is the judiciary committee’s most junior member, and would be among the first to go if the panel is downsized, the Washington Post reported.
But some Democrats are reportedly scrambling to find a way to keep Harris on the committee, the report said. The ideas include negotiating with Republicans -- who maintained control of the chamber after this month's midterm elections -- to keep the committee at 21 members, or convincing a more senior Democrat to step aside.
Although she has been a U.S. senator for less than two years, Harris – a former state attorney general in California – drew attention during the summer for her questioning of Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
KAMALA HARRIS COMPARES ICE TO KKK, GETS SLAMMED FOR 'DISGUSTING,' 'HORRIFYING' REMARKS
For example, Harris and Kavanaugh had a testy exchange over whether he discussed the Russia investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller with anyone at a law firm associated with President Trump’s personal lawyer.
“I think you’re thinking of someone and you don’t want to tell us,” Harris said when Kavanaugh responded that he couldn’t remember if he’d had such conversations.
But in September, the Washington Post gave Harris a rating of Four Pinocchios, saying she selectively edited a video of Kavanaugh comments about abortion-inducing drugs, in a bid to argue that he was against birth control.
Harris has already told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that she hopes to keep her Judiciary spot, her spokeswoman Lily Adams told the Post.
KAMALA HARRIS, AMID 2020 RUMORS, FLOATS $500 A MONTH TAX CREDIT
Her supporters say that Harris, 54 – by being an African-American woman – helps Democrats underscore that the GOP side of the committee includes only white males. (Harris is among four female Democrats on the panel.)
“Not only would it be unconscionable to remove the only African-American woman from the committee, but Sen. Harris also is the most skilled questioner on the entire panel,” Brian Fallon, executive director of Demand Justice, a group tries to get liberal judges appointed, told the Post. “Whatever options they need to consider, removing Harris should not be one of them. The backlash would be intense.”
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is said to be considering Sen.-elect Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., for a Judiciary seat, the Post reported.
Serious discussions about the future makeup of the committee will begin sometime following Tuesday’s Senate run-off election in Mississippi, the Post report said.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz deletes tweet suggesting 'chemical weapons' used at US-Mexico border

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, ultimately deleted his questionable tweet about tear gas at the U.S-Mexico border. (AP, File)

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, tweeted Sunday that the use of tear gas against Central American migrants who attempted to enter the U.S. illegally may have been a violation of international agreements governing the use of chemical weapons -- before he backtracked.
The Associated Press reported that U.S. agents shot several rounds of the gas after migrants tried to penetrate several points along the border at the San Ysidro border crossing between Tijuana, Mexico, and California. Migrants sought to squeeze through gaps in wire, climb over fences and peel back metal sheeting to enter.
In response to the reports, Schatz initially tweeted: "Tear gas across the border against unarmed families is a new low." Approximately 45 minutes later, Schatz tweeted: "Who gave the order? Did it implement or contravene policy?" He then tweeted "WHO GAVE THE ORDER?" in all caps.
Schatz then asked: "Why tear gas? Is this consistent with the Conventions on Chemical Weapons?"
However, the tweet was posted for just a few minutes before it was deleted and replaced by this message: "Anyone uncomfortable with spraying tear gas on children is welcome to join the coalition of the moral and the sane. We can argue about other stuff when we’ve got our country back."
In an exchange with opinion writer Stephen Miller, Schatz admitted that "I went ahead and deleted the one about chemical weapons because I just don’t know enough about what happened." He then asked Miller: "Does this not strike you as excessive?"
A spokesman for Schatz did not respond to Fox News' requests for comment.
Schatz, a former Hawaii state representative and lieutenant governor, was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2012 to serve out Daniel Inouye's term after his death. Schatz was elected to his first full Senate term in 2016.

Obama Trashing America Cartoons