Dem Rep Bennie Thompson demands DHS preserve all records, vows to stop ICE

Thompson, of Mississippi, is currently the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security and is slated to become chairman, according to reports.

The November 4 letter sent to DHS Sec. Mullin ordered the agency to comply with the following: preserve all records, documents, data, and information that have not been, and will not be, destroyed, modified, removed, transferred, or otherwise made inaccessible.

Rep. Thompson told DHS the agency must acknowledge the request in writing by November 11, according to the letter.

He accused DHS of “repeated refusal to cooperate” with oversight requests. “As you are aware, the Federal Records Act (FRA) requires all department and agencies in the Executive Branch to collect, retain, and preserve records that document the “transaction of public business” or “contain informational value,” Thomspon wrote.

“This requirement encompasses such items as tweets and all other forms of social media posts as well as press releases, among other records,” he continued. “Federal officials and employees who violate the FRA are subject to criminal penalties.”

Thompson’s demand sets the stage for oversight and accountability measures. On Wednesday, Politico reported that Rep. Thompson had outlined an agenda in a letter sent to his Democrat colleagues for how he plans to stop Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics.

“The next two years will decide whether [the Department of Homeland Security] answers to the Constitution and to Congress,” Thompson wrote in the letter. “I am asking for the gavel because I know how to use it. I would be honored to have your support.”

He pledged, “We will follow every dollar Republicans have given ICE since the Big Ugly Bill, including every sweetheart deal and self-serving contract Noem and Corey Lewandowski signed off on. Tom Homan and Stephen Miller would not appear when we invited them this spring. In the majority, they will not have that choice.”

DHS has not yet responded to Thompson’s letter.