WASHINGTON _ As congressional leaders huddled with administration officials in the Situation Room, where wars and covert actions are monitored, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen threw out an alarming number that took members of Congress by surprise.
Sitting around a conference table in the secure White House basement chamber on Wednesday, Nielsen told the group that included President Donald Trump, adviser Jared Kushner and top congressional leaders of both parties that border officials had apprehended more than 3,000 terrorists and 17,000 criminals along the U.S.-Mexico border in the past year, according to a person familiar with the private meeting.
Nielsen was trying to persuade Democrats of the need for a complete wall along the border. But the claim backfired, with members pushing back on the claim three minutes into her remarks, the person said. To bolster the point, Trump publicly released a letter to all members of Congress and staff to emphasize the terrorist threat.
