WESLACO – The Homeland Security chief is facing questions on Capitol Hill about the U.S. - Mexico border.

The committee pressed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen on the children apprehended without their parents and the president’s emergency declaration.

Nielsen defended President Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency.

She said the U.S. is on track to apprehend a million immigrants attempting to cross to the U.S. illegally at the southern border this year.

"The projections are dire; the agency is now on track to apprehend more migrants crossing illegally in the first six months of this fiscal year than the entirety of fiscal year '17,” says Nielsen.

When asked about the policy which led to thousands of children being separated from their parents last year, Nielsen told the panel the medical examiner is still reviewing the deaths.

She added that every child that enters into the care of Customs and Border Protection is medically screened.