MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - After serving at the helm of the powerful Department of Homeland Security for 18 months, enforcing some of President Donald Trump's controversial border policies, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has resigned.
Trump announced that Kevin McAleenan, the current U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, will become Acting DHS Secretary.
The move to replace Nielsen, who was considered a loyal defender of the president's most controversial policies on immigration and border security, came as a surprise.
Trump announced the decision on Twitter on Sunday, tweeting, 'Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service.'
The president expressed confidence that 'Kevin will do a great job.'
Trump said that security at the southern border has been broken for many years.
He called on Democrats in Congress to agree to fix loopholes and warned that he will close the border if necessary.
'Mexico must apprehend all illegals and not let them make the long march up to the United States, or we will have no other choice than to Close the Border and/or institute Tariffs. Our Country is FULL,' Trump tweeted.
Nielsen, who took over as DHS Secretary in December of 2017, was hell bent on implementing the Trump administration's fierce anti-immigration policies.
She was responsible for implementing the proposed wall along U.S.-Mexico border and the widely condemned practice of separating migrant children from their parents.
Nielsen did not cite any reason for her departure in her resignation letter, but called it 'an honor of a lifetime' to lead the department.
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