Trump Ousts DHS Chief as Border Promises Unravel Ahead of 2020

Donald Trump’s frustration over his inability to fulfill his signature 2016 campaign promise to curb illegal immigration led him to oust his second homeland security chief, as the president eyes his re-election prospects next year.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned at Trump’s request after a meeting with him on Sunday at the White House residence, according to people familiar with the matter. Her departure follows Trump’s decision last month to give a larger say on immigration policy to a hard-line aide, Stephen Miller, who had complained that Nielsen was too weak, some of the people said.

Trump has been mulling for at least the last week the appointment of both a replacement for Nielsen and a possible immigration “czar” for his administration, the people said -- an official who the president and his top advisers believe can accelerate his policies, including construction of more border wall.

The president named Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, a component of DHS, as acting secretary of the department.

Trump won election in 2016 in part on promises to build a border wall and crack down on undocumented immigrants, pledges that are unraveling after lawmakers refused to give him all the money he wanted for a wall and a spike in border crossings. The U.S. apprehended more than 66,000 people in February after crossing illegally -- an increase of more than 18,000 from a month earlier --and Nielsen has said that apprehensions would approach 100,000 in March.

People Trump has discussed as he’s considered filling high-ranking immigration positions include former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Thomas Homan, who is a favorite of the president and Miller, according to two people familiar with the matter. One person said former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has also been mentioned.