The House Oversight and Reform Committee is planning to subpoena top U.S. immigration officials to testify over the Trump administration’s policy to deport sick migrant children and their families.
Elijah Cummings, committee chair and frequent critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Thursday released a memo that the subpoenas were being prepared because “the Committee has tried for more than a month to obtain this information voluntarily, but USCIS and ICE have obstructed the investigation.”
Cummings wrote that he expects to compel USCIS acting Director Ken Cuccinelli and ICE acting Director Matthew Albence to appear before the committee Thursday.
In August, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped allowing immigrants with special circumstances, like critical illness, to remain in the country and receive U.S. health care.
Since then, Cummings said, his committee has sought to find out “why the Administration sought to deport these children, who was responsible for this decision, and how requests for deferred action will be handled going forward.”
Cuccinelli and Albence have refused repeated requests to appear before lawmakers to answer questions and provide requested documents.