Kirstjen Nielsen resigns as US Homeland Security Secretary

Kirstjen Nielsen, the US Homeland Security Secretary who oversaw Trump administration’s controversial immigration policies, has resigned.

Donald Trump announced Nielsen’s departure on Sunday, underscoring the president’s intent to toughen immigration policy amid a surge in border crossings along the southern border.

A senior administration official said Trump, who has recently expressed growing anger about the situation at the border, asked for Nielsen’s resignation.

“Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service,” the US president tweeted.

Kevin McAleenan, the current US Customs and Border Protection commissioner, would become acting DHS secretary.

During her 18 months at the head of the powerful agency, Nielsen became synonymous with the controversial policy of separating children from their parents, making her a frequent target of progressive groups and the Democratic opposition who repeatedly called on her to resign.

In a tweet late on Sunday, Nielsen said that she would stay on until Wednesday.

“I have agreed to stay on as Secretary through Wednesday, April 10th to “assist with an orderly transition”.

The move came just two days after Nielseon and Trump visited the Mexican border in California together, with the president delivering a stern message to undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers: “Our country is full.”

He had previously threatened to close the US-Mexico border if Congress and Central American governments did not act to stem a flow of migrants that saw Nielsen last week order an “emergency surge” of personnel to handle the situation.

Migrants seek refuge in churches in the US
Nielsen, 46, had been DHS secretary since December 2017.

Her relationship with the president had long been said to be difficult. But despite reports he complained constantly about her performance – and that he believed she was not harsh enough – she remained steadfastly loyal.

Last month, she defended the president’s declaration of a national emergency to secure funding for his pet project: a wall on the US-Mexico border.

Trump has made a clampdown on illegal immigration a centrepiece of his two-year-old presidency, leading chants of “Build that wall” at his rallies as he has sought to cut back on the number of immigrants entering the US without proper documentation.

Border Patrol estimates put the number of migrants passing through Mexico at over 100,000 in March, most from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala: the highest monthly figure in nearly a decade, according to Nielsen.

Trump cut aid to those three countries last month in response to the surge.

“When even the most radical voices in the administration aren’t radical enough for President Trump, you know he’s completely lost touch with the American people,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi added it was “deeply alarming that the Trump administration official who put children in cages is reportedly resigning because she is not extreme enough for the White House’s liking”.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES