Nielsen grilled by Dems on border \'crisis\' claims

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN SAYING: "This is not a manufactured crisis.

This is truly an emergency." Department of Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Wednesday took center stage in the fight over President Trump's border wall….

…adamantly defending Trump's claim of a migrant crisis in testimony on Capitol Hill….

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN SAYING: "And at the current pace, we are on track to encounter close to one million illegal aliens at our southern border this year." …but she faced fierce PUSHBACK from Democrats, who accused her of playing loose with the numbers..

And blasted her agency's treatment of migrants seeking asylum….

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CONGRESSMAN JIM LANGEVIN SAYING: "The president said that there were never so many apprehensions at the border in history up until now.

Is that accurate?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN SAYING: "Again, it depends on the context..." Nielsen insisted the rising numbers of illegal border crossings are overwhelming her agency.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CONGRESSWOMAN DEBBIE LESKO SAYING: "And do you believe that the president of the United States was justified in declaring a national emergency?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN SAYING: "Ma'am, it is an emergency." DHS has come under intense scrutiny over its treatment of migrants…from a policy of separating children from their parents to the deaths of migrant children while in federal custody… (SOUNDBITE) (English) HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN BENNIE THOMPSON SAYING: "Just yes or no: are we still putting children in cages?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN SAYING: "Sir, they're not cages...they're areas of the border facility that are carved out for the safety and protection for those who remain there while they're being processed." (SOUNDBITE) (English) HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN BENNIE THOMPSON SAYING: "Now, I saw the cyclone fences that were made as cages.

And you did too.

All you have to do is admit it.

If it's a bad policy, then change it." Despite intense scrutiny on the issue for months..…Neilsen told Congress she could not say how many migrant children remain in detention centers…