President Trump says only 1 person is in charge of immigration: Him
http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/national/president-trump-says-only-1-person-is-in-charge-of-immigration-him
Posted Apr 10 2019 03:02PM CDT
Updated Apr 10 2019 07:53PM CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump says there's only one person in charge of his immigration policy: Him.
Asked by reporters Wednesday whether he had considered tapping his influential aide, Stephen Miller, to lead the Department of Homeland Security given Miller's focus on the issue, Trump was ready with praise - but not a promotion.
"Stephen is an excellent guy. He's wonderful person. … He's a brilliant man," Trump said as he departed for Texas. But "frankly, there's only one person that's running it," Trump said. "You know who that is? It's me."
Trump on Sunday announced that Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of United States Customs and Border Protection, would be taking over as acting Homeland Security secretary in the wake of Kirstjen Nielsen's sudden departure.
RELATED: Report: Trump organization cutting undocumented workers from Florida resorts
Asked whether he was considering nominating McAleenan as his permanent secretary, Trump said, "Could happen."
"We have others, but right now he's the man," said Trump.
Trump continued his focus on immigration during his Texas visit, where he turned a pre-fundraiser roundtable with supporters in San Antonio, Texas, into a forum for venting about illegal immigration, human trafficking and safety concerns on the border.
During the session, Trump announced he would be directing additional members of the military to the border and contended that residents of border states are living in tremendous danger and that nobody has any idea how bad the problem is. Some ranchers, he claimed, had told him they were finding scores of dead bodies on their land.
RELATED: ‘Our country is full’: Trump says migrants are straining system
"They're dying on their fields, all over," he said. "They go over, they find bodies lying over the field, including many pregnant women. Many pregnant women. They give it a little water, go out and start walking. Walk to Dallas and Dallas is 250 miles away."
The comments came a day after Trump said he was not looking to revive the much-criticized practice of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border, as he has privately threatened, amid bipartisan pushback to his shake-up at Homeland Security. At the same time, he suggested the policy had worked to deter migrants from coming into the U.S., although he offered no evidence to support his position.
Last summer the administration separated more than 2,500 children from their families before international outrage forced Trump to halt the practice and a judge ordered them reunited.
RELATED: President Trump to tour new southern border fence in California
"We're not looking to do that," Trump told reporters Tuesday before meeting with Egypt's president at the White House. But he also noted: "Once you don't have it, that's why you see many more people coming. They're coming like it's a picnic, because let's go to Disneyland."
The potential reinstatement of one of the most divisive practices of Trump's tenure was just one aspect of the upheaval at the Department of Homeland Security this week that culminated with Nielsen's resignation. Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady, a 28-year civil servant, technically next in line for secretary, was forced to resign Tuesday to make room for Trump's pick to replace Nielsen, according to two people familiar with the decision.