US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced the departure of Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, underscoring his intent to toughen immigration policy amid a surge in illegal crossings along the southern border.
Nielsen's exit marks the end of a difficult relationship with her boss, who was said to be unhappy with her performance despite her unswerving loyalty and full-throated defense of the president's most controversial policies.
During her 18 months at the helm of the powerful agency, the 46-year-old became synonymous with the controversial practice 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.
None of this, however, seems to have been enough for Trump.
"Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service," Trump tweeted Sunday.
He added US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan would become acting secretary.
"Despite our progress in reforming homeland security for a new age, I have determined that it is the right time for me to step aside," Nielsen said in a resignation letter she later shared on Twitter.
The move came just two days after she and Trump visited the Mexican border in California together, with the president delivering a stern message to would-be illegal immigrants and asylum seekers: "Our country is full."
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."
Images of sobbing children being taken from their parents last year fuelled a national outcry as condemnation poured in from the United Nations, human rights groups, and four former first ladies -- all mothers -- who called the policy "cruel" and "immoral."
"@SecNielsen's legacy of tearing innocent families apart will follow her for the rest of her life-and she should be ashamed of the role she played," Democratic senator and 2020 hopeful Elizabeth Warren tweeted of Nielsen's exit On the other side, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Nielsen "did her best to deal with a broken immigration system and broken Congress."
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