CNN reports that over 130 employees of the Department of Homeland Security have urged President Joe Biden's administration to call for an immediate ceasefire and halt of hostilities in the Gaza Strip. This call for action came in a letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month.
The network stated that the employees, who did not reveal their names in the letter dated November 22, 2023, joined their colleagues in Capitol Hill, the United States Agency for International Development, the State Department, and across the executive branch who have expressed similar concerns and advocated for the Biden administration to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The employees, who work across various federal agencies within the department that employs over 260,000 individuals, expressed that they signed the letter anonymously due to fear for their personal safety and professional repercussions.
The letter criticizes the Department of Homeland Security for turning a blind eye to the bombing in Gaza and states, "The Department of Homeland Security has been a silent witness to the hunger affecting Palestinians, where vital food supplies have reached dangerously low levels."
This is not the first time employees within the Biden administration have voiced their growing frustrations regarding how the President has been handling Israel's war on Gaza. Earlier this week, dozens of political appointees and Biden administration staffers organized a protest in front of the White House to demand the President support a ceasefire in Gaza.
In November, more than 700 employees and politicians signed a letter urging Biden to support a ceasefire. These employees hail from over 30 departments and agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and NASA.
