Washington — President Trump is considering the appointment of an immigration czar to oversee the implementation of his hardline immigration agenda, an administration official told CBS News.
The top contenders for such a position, the official said, are former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, two conservative firebrands who support the president’s views on immigration. Kobach, one of the fiercest immigration hawks in the country, spearheaded a now-defunct White House commission to review claims of voter fraud.
The president has recently intensified his tough rhetoric on immigration, berating governments in Mexico and Central America for not stopping the flow migrant families undertaking the journey north and threatening to shut down the southern border — which the business-friendly U.S. Chamber of Commerce said would cause “severe economic harm.”
“Mexico must use its very strong immigration laws to stop the many thousands of people trying to get into the USA. Our detention areas are maxed out & we will take no more illegals. Next step is to close the Border! This will also help us with stopping the Drug flow from Mexico!” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday.
On Friday, Mr. Trump announced he was cutting all foreign aid to the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador — where most of the migrants heading towards the U.S.-Mexico border are from. The next day, the State Department said it was ending the foreign assistance programs appropriations for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 for these countries, known as the Northern Triangle, at the president’s direction.
Critics of the move believe a halt in U.S. aid to the region, which is mostly provided to non-profits and NGOs, will impede efforts to curb the widespread poverty, violence, corruption and climate change displacement in the region — and prompt more irregular migration towards the U.S.
