(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Acting
Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke on Friday denied reports
that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly pressured her to end
protections for tens of thousands of immigrants, and said she plans to
remain in the Trump administration.
The Washington Post reported on
Thursday that Kelly pressured Duke to end what is called temporary
protected status for tens of thousands of Hondurans living in the United
States.
The newspaper also reported that Duke has informed Kelly that she plans to resign.
The New York Times later reported that Kelly 'made an 11th-hour plea to Duke that she end the protections.
'The
recent media reports regarding the TPS decision-making process are
seriously flawed, Duke said in a statement late on Friday evening.
She
said she had conversations with Kelly, the former secretary of homeland
security, leading up to her decision, but that he 'consistently
reiterated that, as the Acting Secretary, the current decisions were
mine to make and should be done in accordance with the existing law.
'At
no time did he pressure me to terminate TPS for Nicaragua, Honduras or
El Salvador: any reports otherwise are false, she added.
In the end,
Duke extended the benefits for Honduran immigrants until July 2018,
though officials said it could then be terminated. Duke decided to end
the special status for Nicaraguan immigrants, however, and it will
expire in January 2019.
Duke said it was 'a tremendous honor to
serve at DHS, and said she planned to continue in the department's
second-highest position, deputy secretary, once Kirstjen Nielsen, the
nominee for DHS secretary, wins Senate confirmation.
'I have no plans to go anywhere and reports to the contrary are untrue, Duke said.
Thousands
from both Nicaragua and Honduras were given the special status in 1999
after Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America.
In all, temporary protected status protects more than 300,000 people living in the United States.
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