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A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 27 June 2019

Leaks, accusations and staff shuffle: Turmoil inside DHS

Continued from Front ther stepped down or been Security Committee. The
reassigned. And questions 240,000-person depart-
Many spoke on condition remain about whether the ment is tasked with election
of anonymity because they president has confidence and cyber security, disaster
were not authorized to dis- in the man he recently response and even the Se-
cuss internal deliberations. tapped to head the sprawl- cret Service. But in Trump’s
The squabbling and jock- ing DHS, acting secretary world, Homeland Secu-
eying over jobs come amid Kevin McAleenan. rity means one thing: im-
outrage over reports of chil- The leadership merry-go- migration. The president’s
dren being held in squalid round has spun so many signature issue makes the
conditions and families dy- times that it’s hard to keep department his focus and
ing as they try to make it to track of who is in charge of his ire . Balancing a White
the U.S. what. And most of those House eager to push ma-
Over the past week alone, leaders have not been offi- jor changes with the reality
a scrapped immigration cially nominated by Trump, on the ground is a constant
roundup targeting families let alone confirmed by the challenge. A migrant mother and children ride a freight train on their way
prompted infighting and Senate. Trump’s efforts in recent north, in Palenque, Chiapas state, Mexico, Monday, June 24,
accusations of leaking. The “DHS is charged with keep- weeks have featured whip- 2019. The group’s next stop will be Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz
acting leaders at both U.S. ing the nation secure, but lash-inducing threats and state.
Customs and Border Pro- the president is putting reversals. The White House Associated Press
tection, which manages its leadership through a did not respond to requests forward with a long-consid- where it came from, we all
the border, and U.S. Immi- constant game of musi- for comment. ered operation that would know where it came from,”
gration and Customs En- cal chairs to fit his political Last week, Mark Morgan, target families living in he said. Homan said the
forcement, which handles agenda,” said Rep. Ben- newly installed as acting the U.S. illegally. But ques- leaks put “officers at great-
immigration enforcement nie Thompson, chairman director of ICE, sought to tions remained, including er risk of harm.”
inside the country, have ei- of the House Homeland please his boss by moving whether there was enough Homan told The Associated
detention space available Press Wednesday that he
for families, what would had never said McAleenan
happen to the children was to blame.
of arrested parents, and “McAleenan’s a very tal-
whether the effort made ented man. I think he’s a
sense, given the crisis at smart man. And I hope he’s
the border. Then Trump successful. And I think he’s
tweeted without warning done some good things,”
that a massive deportation he said.
operation was in the works. McAleenan hasn’t com-
Damage control quickly mented. He has, however,
ensued, with heated meet- pleaded with Congress for
ings at the White House. more money to help man-
And on Friday, specific age the influx of migrants
details of the operation at the border. Facilities are
leaked to the press, in- vastly strained, agents and
cluding information about officers are working around
when the operation would the clock, and the depart-
begin and which cities it ment is forced to divert
would target. funding and manpower.
Amid finger-pointing over But the future of the emer-
where the leak had come gency funding request is
from, ICE canceled it over unclear, with the GOP-led
concerns for officer safety. Senate and the Democrat-
Trump later said he called ic-led House passing differ-
off the raids at the request ent versions of the bill.
of Democrats. More immigration staffing
But the leaks enraged ICE also remains under discus-
officials. Former ICE head sion. Homan said he re-
Tom Homan , a strong pro- mains open to joining the
ponent of Trump’s policies, administration as an im-
seemed to point a finger at migration czar, even after
McAleenan during an ap- Trump jumped the gun by
pearance on Fox News. saying on Fox that it was a
“This leak, which I know done deal.q