DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and a top immigration official were 'forced out of the Trump Administration for challenging a "secret plan" to arrest thousands of migrant parents and children in a blitz operation'
- Kirstjen Nielsen was forced out last month as secretary of Homeland Security
- Ronald Vitiello was removed as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- Nielsen and Vitiello were ousted after they stood in the way of a secret White House plan to arrest and deport thousands of migrant families
- The plan, which was backed by adviser Stephen Miller and then-deputy director of ICE, Matthew Albence, called for a 'blitz' encompassing 10 cities
- Nielsen and Vitiello were concerned the plan would divert crucial resources from the southern border
- Trump has been furious with the record high numbers of migrants crossing the border to seek asylum in the United States
The former heads of the Department of Homeland Security were removed last month after they halted a secret White House plan to launch a ‘10-city blitz operation’ that would have included the arrest and swift deportation of thousands of migrant families and children.
Kirstjen Nielsen, the former Homeland Security secretary, and Ronald Vitiello, who was acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), were ousted after they stood in the way of the plan, The Washington Post reported Monday.
The Post cited seven current and former officials with the department.
The officials said that the Trump administration was planning to target the thousands of families who crossed the southern border from Mexico after President Trump walked back the ‘zero tolerance’ family separation policy last year.
Kirstjen Nielsen (right), former Homeland Security secretary, and Ronald Vitiello (right), former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), were fired after 'resisting a secret White House plan to swiftly arrest and deport thousands of migrant families'
The Trump administration separated children from parents at the southern border last summer, a move that prompted mass outrage and criticism that the U.S. was abandoning its humanitarian role and harming children.
Immigration experts say the separations, which were halted last June, did little to stop migrant crossings and, in fact, may have prompted more people to come.
The number of border crossings has risen dramatically in the past few months to more than 100,000 per month.
More than half are families who cannot be easily sent back to their home countries.
Border officials say they are out of resources and manpower and can't keep up.
The plan to arrest thousands was meant to ‘send a message’ to migrants that the government would move quickly to detain and deport recent arrivals, even if those included families with children.
The purported plan called for fast-tracking immigration court cases, the swift issuance of deportation orders against those who did not show for their hearings, and coordinated arrest raids against parents with children in their homes and neighborhoods.
But the plan was never carried out because Nielsen and Vitiello did not believe it was well prepared.
The Post reported that they also were fearful of the negative public reaction, and that resources that would be diverted from the border.
Cuban migrants are seen above crossing the U.S.-Mexico border from Mexico on April 29. They are seeking asylum in the U.S. The Trump administration has considered ways to reduce the number of migrants crossing into the U.S.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s top adviser on immigration issues, and ICE Deputy Director Matthew Albence were eagerly pushing the plan, according to the Post.
Miller and Albence wanted a dramatic, highly visible show of mass arrests as a way of deterring would-be migrants from coming to the country illegally.
Share this article
The ‘blitz’ was planned for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other large ‘sanctuary’ cities where local law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE.
The initial plan contained the names of 2,500 adults and children targeted for arrest and removal, according to the Post.
But officials expanded the goals of the plan, which could see as many as 10,000 migrants detained.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s top adviser on immigration issues, and ICE Deputy Director Matthew Albence were eagerly pushing a plan for mass arrests and deportations of migrants in 10 major U.S. cities, according to The Washington Post
The plan as of Monday is still under consideration, the Post reported.
According to DHS officials, Nielsen and Vitiello raised concerns that were mostly operational and logistical.
They reportedly did not have any objections to moral or ethical dilemmas about detaining families.
‘There was concern that it was being hastily put together, would be ineffective and might actually backfire by misdirecting resources away from critical border emergency response operations,’ said a DHS official.
Nielsen and others in the department believed that the administration’s focus should be on deporting ‘criminal aliens’ rather than families and children.
‘The proposal was nowhere near ready for prime time,’ the official said.
‘They wanted 10 cities, thousands of targets.’
The push back that the White House received from Nielsen and Vitiello was a contributing factor to Trump’s decision to remove them, according to officials.
Vitiello, in particular, was worried that the plan would result in children who are U.S. citizens being separated from their parents while they were away at school or a friend’s house.
One DHS official with knowledge of the discussions told the Post that Vitiello ‘didn’t think it was a good idea.’
‘Both he and Nielsen instinctively thought it was bad policy and that the proposal was less than half-baked,’ the official said.
But other officials denied this, saying that the plan was crafted after a year’s worth of discussions.
Trump has railed against the growing numbers of migrants crossing into the United States and is furious that he has been unable to stem the flow despite his campaign promise to clamp down on immigration
Vitiello's nomination to lead the immigration agency was pulled by the White House in a move last month that caught lawmakers and even the most senior Homeland Security officials off guard.
Nielsen resigned just a few days later.
Trump has railed against the growing numbers and is furious that he has been unable to stem the flow of migrants despite his campaign promise to clamp down on immigration.
The White House recently asked Congress for $4.5billion in supplemental funding, mostly for humanitarian aid and shelter space for migrant children.
ICE planes have been used over the past few days to fly migrants to less-crowded locations along the border for processing.
