- Jamal Simmons apologized for a 2010 tweet questioning why two undocumented immigrants weren't arrested.
- Harris just announced Simmons' hiring as her new communications director.
- Simmons has previously been a political pundit.
Vice President Kamala Harris' new communications director Jamal Simmons apologized on Friday for openly wondering on Twitter in 2010 why federal immigration officers could not arrest undocumented immigrants who were doing a TV interview.
"Just saw 2 undocumented folks talking on MSNBC. One Law student the other a protester. Can someone explain why ICE is not picking them up?" Simmons wrote at the time. He then sent another tweet minutes later trying to clarify his remarks, but still asked why Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not detain people who openly admit their undocumented status.
Simmons' tweets resurfaced after the news broke that he was joining Harris' staff. The messages were part of a lengthy FoxNews.com report about his past statements.
—Jamal Simmons (@JamalSimmons) November 29, 2010
—Jamal Simmons (@JamalSimmons) November 29, 2010
"Sometimes I have been sarcastic, unclear, or just plainly missed the mark. I sincerely apologize for offending those who care as much as I do about making America the best, multi-ethnic, diverse democracy it can be," Simmons said in a statement to reporters, according to Politico's Alex Thompson.
Former Trump White House official Stephen Miller, who was instrumental in the administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy that led to the separation of undocumented families, trolled Simmons on Twitter.
"I agree with @JamalSimmons. If you break into our nation there must be deportation," Miller wrote on Twitter.
Before Simmons issued his apology, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a lawyer for the American Immigration Council, expressed hope that now-White House staffer regrets his remarks.
"His positions a decade ago were fairly typical of a lot of Democrats; harsh border controls and employer sanctions but a desire to pass some kind of immigration reform. That is still the mainstream position for many even after years of proof that harsh border controls don't work," Reichlin-Melnick wrote on Twitter.