Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly defended the decision to deport a mother and her 5-year-old son back to Honduras, saying the government did not have a choice, McClatchy DC reported.
"You can't pick and choose the laws that you follow. I can't pick and choose the laws I enforce," Kelly said.
His comments came after the woman and her little boy were sent to Honduras after spending more than a year in family detention center in the U.S. including one in Berks County, Pa., as they fought to stay in the county.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., took to Twitter to blast the White House over the decision.
Casey had also claimed in one tweet that he had spoken with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus about the case.
A White House official told McClatchy DC that calling out Priebus on Twitter would not help the senators' working relationship with the administration.
And Casey has accused Kelly of avoiding his phone call. But Kelly claimed he tried at least five times to call the senator back, according to McClatchy DC. Meanwhile, Kelly accused Casey of going to the press with "outrageous" stories about the reason why DHS deports people.
"You have to understand that ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security, John Kelly, I don't, we don't deport people," Kelly said. "The law deports people."
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