Trump's Border Protection Nominee Commits to Sharing Public Information about Location in Custody "As Soon As Possible"
Asserts refusing detainees phone calls and their families information on their location will not be his policy
Scott: “I will follow court orders…(and) commit to transparency and sharing (custody and location) information consistent with law and policy as quickly as possible.”
Warren: “Targeting people who have never committed a crime, but who are now terrified that the United States government is going to remove them from their families without any legal help…is not only wrong, it is not making us safer.”
Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pushed Mr. Rodney Scott, nominee for Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to commit to following court orders, ensuring agents do not deny entry based on travelers’ political views, allowing detained individuals to make phone calls to their families and their lawyers, and publicly releasing information on where people in CBP custody are being held.
Senator Warren highlighted the Trump administration’s recent disturbing pattern of detaining people with no criminal record, refusing to let them speak with their families and lawyers, and then deporting them even after courts have said not to. Mr. Scott said he would “follow court orders.”
Senator Warren also pointed to a recent report of immigration officials searching a traveler’s phone and denying entry to the United States for criticizing the Trump administration. Mr. Scott agreed that, if confirmed, he would not allow politically motivated denials of entry based on criticism of the President.
Senator Warren pushed Mr. Scott to commit to letting the public know within hours, instead of the current policy of 48 hours, when someone is in CBP custody and where they are located. Mr. Scott refused to commit but said he would share public information about the location of people in CBP custody “as soon as possible.”
“I am concerned that, while I appreciate that you are making commitments to do your best here, that we really are going to need continued oversight to make sure that this happens,” said Senator Warren.
“Targeting people who have never committed a crime, but who are now terrified that the United States government is going to remove them from their families without any legal help… is not making us safer,” Senator Warren concluded.
Transcript: “Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Rodney Scott, of Oklahoma, to be Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, vice Chris Magnus”
Senate Finance Committee
April 30, 2025
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, Americans want to be safe, but in just 100 days, the Trump administration has started to round up people with no criminal record, move them so that even their families and lawyers have no idea where they are, and deport them even after a court has said not to. That is not making our nation safer.
Now, Mr. Scott, if confirmed as Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, you will decide whether to continue or to reverse these very troubling trends.
So, I want to understand what policies you would follow. Last month, ICE transported Kilmar Abrego Garcia and more than one hundred others to El Salvador after a court ordered they not be removed. Concerns have also been raised about whether CBP is deporting people in violation of court orders.
So let me start there. Mr. Scott, will it be your policy as CBP Commissioner to deport people in violation of court orders?
Mr. Rodney Scott, nominee for Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection: No, ma’am. I will follow court orders.
Senator Warren: That’s what I like to hear. So, let’s try another one. Last month, CBP reportedly searched the phone of a French scientist at a Houston airport, and reportedly found text messages criticizing President Trump’s research policies, and then denied him entry.
Mr. Scott, will it be your policy as CBP Commissioner to deny entry to travelers because they criticize Donald Trump?
Mr. Scott: In my experience, that does not happen. In my experience—
Senator Warren: That's not my question. My question is will it be your policy that if someone criticizes Donald Trump will be denied entry to the United States of America?
Mr. Scott: No, and I don't believe that happens today either.
Senator Warren: Alright, but you will make sure that that is not the policy that CBP follows, is that right?
Mr. Scott: If confirmed, that’s correct.
Senator Warren: Alright, let’s do one more. Lawyers and loved ones are finding CBP to be a black box that detains people and refuses to tell anyone where they are for hours, sometimes for days.
For example, two U.S. citizen children and their immigrant mother were detained by CBP for three days without being able to communicate with legal counsel or anyone in their family. They reported feeling "kidnapped."
Mr. Scott, you said you care about transparency. Will it be your policy for CBP agents to detain a family and prevent them from speaking with counsel or their families for days?
Mr. Scott: That is not the policy of CBP. And if confirmed that would not be my policy.
Senator Warren: Alright. And will you commit to letting the public know within hours, not days, when someone is in CBP custody and where they are located, the same way that ICE does?
Mr. Scott: I have learned to not over commit to something that I can't follow through on. I commit to transparency and sharing that information consistent with law and policy as quickly as possible, but CBP is slightly different. There’s an interdiction, there’s a processing, we don’t have detention facilities, so a lot of times they are taken somewhere else.
There are time delays and the generality of within hours—as soon as possible I will commit to, but I cannot commit to a specific timeline, because it changes in different parts of the country depending on where the individual is encountered.
Senator Warren: So, are you telling me that literally it can be days before CBP understands they’ve got someone and to let that person be able to call a family member so they’re not frantically wondering what happened to them?
Mr. Scott: So, under the last administration and the chaos that was created the answer to your question was yes. People being arrested were so backed up that in many cases it was taking CBP officers and patrol agents days just to get to them to do basic processing.
Senator Warren: And in the meantime, none of them were permitted to make a phone call?
Mr. Scott: We didn’t know who they were.
Senator Warren: So you can't let them make a phone call to just tell their family where they are or find a lawyer if that’s what they think they need?
Mr. Scott: I believe there were 15,000 of them in one day. There wasn't time. It was about officer safety, it was about keeping people safe and keeping them safe. Because it's not just 15,000 families. There were criminals mixed in there. There were gang members mixed in there. There were cartel members mixed in there. And all of the officers and agents when we create this chaos have to deal with all of that and keep people safe, so it gets delayed.
Today we don't have that problem, because the Trump administration’s created policies that have deterred all that massive chaos on the border from crossing. So those calls will take place quicker because we actually have time to—
Senator Warren: So, if the Trump administration has ended all the chaos, is there a reason that you cannot commit to let people be able to reach out to their families within hours of being detained by CBP?
You said you got that chaos under control now?
Mr. Scott: I will confirm that if confirmed as commissioner, my commitment to you is we will let them make that call as quickly as reasonably possible with the other factors that I just outlined for you.
Senator Warren: Well, the questions I asked are really straightforward and I'm very worried about what's happening now—denying people entry because they criticize Donald Trump.
I'm worried about the feeling that people have been disappeared, including mothers with children, for days on end. And I am concerned that, while I appreciate that you are making commitments to do your best here, that we really are going to need continued oversight to make sure that this happens.
Targeting people who have never committed a crime, but who are now terrified that the United States government is going to remove them from their families without any legal help, take them off of our streets or out of our airports is not only wrong, it is not making us safer.
I apologize for going over, Mr. Chairman.
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