The acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, reportedly resisted intense pressure from White House chief of staff John Kelly and Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert over the status of roughly 86,000 Honduran immigrants in the U.S.
The acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, reportedly resisted intense pressure from White House chief of staff John Kelly and Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert over the status of roughly 86,000 Honduran immigrants in the U.S.
The Washington Post is reporting, based on inside sources, that the two men had tried to convince Elaine Duke to end a residency program for that group even after she decided to extend it and, as such, she "was angered by what she felt was a politically driven intrusion by [them].
In fact, Duke announced her decision in a news release issued this week, saying that the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation for about 5,300 Nicaraguans will terminate on January 5, 2019 while the fate of Hondurans under the same program has not yet been determined and will therefore granted an extension through July 5, 2018 for a final call.
TPS is intended to help the residents of areas devastated by natural disasters or domestic conflict.
In this case, the former reason applied, as citizens of the two countries were allowed to reside in the U.S. after Hurricane Mitch tore through Central America in 1998, notes NBC News.
According to the Post, Kelly had wanted Duke to end the Honduran program to align better with the administration's broader immigration goals and to create a cleaner slate for his former close aide, Kirstjen Nielsen, to become DHS Secretary.
President Trump had announced Nielsen's nomination last month.
"[Kelly] was persistent, telling [Duke] he didn't want to kick the can down the road, and that it could hurt [Nielsen's] nomination," one official told the Post.
But the person said of Duke's reaction, "She was angry. To get a call like that from Asia, after she'd already made the decision, was a slap in the face."
Duke even reportedly indicated her intention to resign.
However, DHS spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman has denied that Duke plans to leave the department and has portrayed her call with Kelly as a fairly typical policy discussion.
