On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection of retired Marine Corps General John Kelly to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to Trump, “Gen. John Kelly’s decades of military service and deep commitment to fighting the threat of terrorism inside our borders makes him the ideal choice to serve as our Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He is the right person to spearhead the urgent mission of stopping illegal immigration and securing our borders, streamlining TSA and improving coordination between our intelligence and law enforcement agencies.” Kelly’s past experience includes overseeing the military in the Caribbean and Central and South America as the head of the U.S. Southern Command. It is too early to know what immigration direction DHS will take under his leadership.
Last month, Trump announced his plan to nominate Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to be Attorney General of the United States. Sessions is known for his strong stance against immigration. If confirmed, Sessions will have wide latitude to choose which immigration-related cases and policies to pursue, thereby indirectly affecting immigration law and policy.