Trump officials reportedly ignored warnings against expelling 300,000 immigrants
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ignored the advice of senior U.S. diplomats and urged the Department of Homeland Security to end protections for 300,000 Central Americans and Haitians living under temporary protected status (TPS), current and former State Department officials told The Washington Post.
In cables, the diplomats said they were strongly opposed to ending the immigrants' TPS, because sending an influx of people back to those areas could lead to destabilization and launch a surge in new illegal immigration, the Post reports. Congress established TPS in 1990 with the goal of preventing the deportation of people from countries that are reeling from violence or natural disasters.
Several people told the Post that last October, Tillerson sent a letter to acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, claiming that conditions had improved in Haiti and Central America enough that immigrants from those areas no longer needed TPS. He told her this "was just something she had to do," but she discussed it with an aide who was once ambassador to Honduras, and he warned her that Honduras was in no way ready to accept so many people and that gangs would try to recruit the deportees.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When Duke announced she was not ready to make a decision and gave Honduras a six-month extension, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly was enraged, the Post reports. Duke approached the issue "like a real human being," a former colleague told the Post, but she knew her career was finished and announced her resignation in February. Read more about the Trump administration's push to end TPS at The Washington Post.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The new powers to stop stalking in the UK
The Explainer Updated guidance could help protect more victims, but public is losing trust in police and battered criminal justice system
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Criminal trail?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claims
Speed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published