Another Trump official resigns.
Trump official ready to resign after being asked to deport 50,000 immigrants
Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is reportedly set to resign in light of being asked to reverse a decision extending temporary residents permits to thousands of Central American immigrants living in the US.
Ms Duke was reportedly asked by White House Chief of Staff and former head of DHS John Kelly to not allow some 57,000 Hondurans and 2,500 Nicaraguans to stay in the country on Temporary Protective Status (TPS).
DHS had a deadline of 6 November to make the decision for people who were allowed to remain in the US under TPS, a programme which began in 1990 to stop deportations to countries who could not handle an influx of people returning after natural disasters or other crises.
Several Hondurans arrived in the US after Hurricane Mitch had hit the Central American region in 1998.
Ms Duke felt it was a “politically driven intrusion” on the part of Mr Kelly and White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert, sources told the Washington Post.
Ms Duke ultimately decided to end the TPS programme for Nicaraguans - they have until January 2019 to leave or change status - but gave the Hondurans a six-month extension for the agency to make a decision.
Donald Trump's immigration crackdown encapsulated in poignant footage of father being deported
According to officials, she felt she needed more information on the situation with Hondurans and had received calls from diplomats asking her to weigh the fate of those immigrants, who had lived in the country for decades, with care.
The Trump administration has said it feels the programme is being misused, to grant long-term residency rather than a short-term stay in emergency situations.
Mr Kelly reportedly told Ms Duke that she was “kicking the can down the road” and it was not in line with the administration’s immigration priorities.
Trump official ready to resign after being asked to deport 50,000 immigrants
Trump official ready to resign after being asked to deport 50,000 immigrants
Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is reportedly set to resign in light of being asked to reverse a decision extending temporary residents permits to thousands of Central American immigrants living in the US.
Ms Duke was reportedly asked by White House Chief of Staff and former head of DHS John Kelly to not allow some 57,000 Hondurans and 2,500 Nicaraguans to stay in the country on Temporary Protective Status (TPS).
DHS had a deadline of 6 November to make the decision for people who were allowed to remain in the US under TPS, a programme which began in 1990 to stop deportations to countries who could not handle an influx of people returning after natural disasters or other crises.
Several Hondurans arrived in the US after Hurricane Mitch had hit the Central American region in 1998.
Ms Duke felt it was a “politically driven intrusion” on the part of Mr Kelly and White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert, sources told the Washington Post.
Ms Duke ultimately decided to end the TPS programme for Nicaraguans - they have until January 2019 to leave or change status - but gave the Hondurans a six-month extension for the agency to make a decision.
Donald Trump's immigration crackdown encapsulated in poignant footage of father being deported
According to officials, she felt she needed more information on the situation with Hondurans and had received calls from diplomats asking her to weigh the fate of those immigrants, who had lived in the country for decades, with care.
The Trump administration has said it feels the programme is being misused, to grant long-term residency rather than a short-term stay in emergency situations.
Mr Kelly reportedly told Ms Duke that she was “kicking the can down the road” and it was not in line with the administration’s immigration priorities.
Trump official ready to resign after being asked to deport 50,000 immigrants
