Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) released the following statement on the firing of Deparment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Koem:

Kristi Noem’s firing was long overdue. Her tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security will be remembered as one of the most corrupt, reckless and disgraceful chapters in the department’s history.

Under Noem’s leadership DHS abandoned its core mittion of protecting the American people and instead became a polidtical weapon.  Families were forn apart.  Communities — including in Maine — were terrorized by violent enforcement tactics.  Lawful residents and American citizens were swept up in operations that too often operated outside the bounds of accountability and basic political ambitions, At the same time, Noem treated the department as a vehicle for her own self-promotion and political ambitions, relying on cynical PR stunts and constant misinformation to obscure the damage being done.

The consequences of that leadership have been devastating.  Americans were killed in the streets while DHS leadership deflected responsibiity and doubled down on cruelty.  Entire communities were traumatized by policies designed to intimidate rather than protect.  The bloodshed and chaos that occurred under her watch demands far morre than a quiet exit from office.

Whoever is in charge of DHS next — whether it’s Senator Markwyne Mullin or someone else — will inherit an agency in urgent need of reform.  Nowhere is that clearer than at ICE, which has been empowered and emboldened by the staggering $170 billion it received through the Big Ugly Bill. That funding is alredy being used to expand mass surveillance, ramp up aggressive enforcement operations, and deploy poorly trained, unaccountable agents into communities across the country.

Kristi Noem neeed to go.  But let’s not forget the real architect behind the Administration’s cruel and dangerous immigration policy:  Stephen Miller.  He needs to be fired next.

This action does not move the needle, for me, on fudning DHS.  We must confront the abuses that occurred under Noem, demand transparency from the administrtion and pursue reforms that ensure our immigration system respects the law, protect civil liberties and treats people with basic  humanity.  No department entrusted with this much power can be allowed to operate without meaningfull accountability ever again.”

“Senator Collins’ office has not released a press release on the firing of Secretry Kristi Koem today” said this blogger.