Donald Trump Illegally Installed Immigration Chief With Alleged White Nationalist Beliefs, Judge Rules
On Sunday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that Donald Trump illegally appointed Ken Cuccinelli as the Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Raw Story reported.
In particular, Axios reported that Moss ruled that Cuccinelli’s placement as the acting Director of the USCIS violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
According to the 55-page ruling, Cuccinelli was “not lawfully appointed” to his position at USCIS. As a result of the verdict, specific directives Cuccinelli implemented during his time in the post will be “set aside.” Per Axios, one such instruction cut down the time asylum seekers received to seek legal guidance before their “credible fear” interview with a USCIS officer.
Cuccinelli’s appointment was controversial due to his reported history of promoting anti-LGBTQ, white nationalist, and misogynistic policies. As reported by NBC News, Cuccinelli was accused by Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of pursuing “heinous white supremacist ideology” in his attempt to cut public benefits for legal U.S. immigrants.
Wasserman Schultz made the comment while questioning Cuccinelli during a congressional hearing in October of last year. Notably, she pointed to Cuccinelli’s claim that he was not aware of how many children would stop receiving public benefits if his proposed immigration rule would go into effect.
“You have demonstrated that you will pursue this heinous white supremacist ideology at all costs, even if it means making critically ill children your collateral damage in the process.”
In a nutshell, Judge Moss holds that Cuccinelli was not legally the “first assistant” to the Director of USCIS, and so could not lawfully be named Acting Director of USCIS under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act: pic.twitter.com/uxH4rqzqYg
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) March 1, 2020
Although Cuccinelli denied being a white supremacist, Wasserman Schultz continued to blast his reported attempts to implement policies that would harm immigrant children.
“When you’re talking about affecting children, one would think that someone in your position was going to establish such a heinous policy with such far and significant reach, potentially harming thousands of children, then you would know how many children it would affect.”
The former Virginia Attorney General also allegedly has ties to the Center for Immigration Studies, which Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) claims is a hate group.
The Trump administration’s approach to immigration has been controversial. Despite many describing it as a hardline approach, not everyone in the administration appears to hold the same beliefs. As The Inquisitr previously reported, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney was recently caught on tape claiming that the U.S. is “desperate” for more immigrants.
Although Mulvaney noted that such immigrants should be entering the U.S. legally, the audio nevertheless highlighted Mulvaney’s belief that immigrants are essential for a strong U.S. economy.
