Democrats side-eye Trump's new acting head of Citizenship and Immigration Services


It's official.
After much speculation over what leadership role he would serve in the Department of Homeland Security, The Hill reported on Monday that former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) will take over as the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that administers the country's legal immigration system. Cuccinelli is a hardliner on immigration, who in the past has advocated for ending birthright citizenship and militarizing the border, and served as the chief patron for a proposed Virginia bill that would have allowed employers to fire employees who didn't speak English in the workplace.
His fellow Virginian, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), has pointed to his extremist views as reason enough to reject his confirmation, should President Trump eventually choose Cuccinelli to lead the USCIS permanently.
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The Hispanic Caucus, an organization consisting of Democratic members of Congress advocating for issues related to Hispanics and Latinos in the U.S., has also already expressed concern over Cuccinelli's new role, fearing he will advance an anti-immigration agenda.
But it's not just the other side of the aisle that wants to prevent Cuccinelli from advancing into a permanent role. He's made quite a few enemies within the GOP, as well, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has reportedly vowed to block Cuccinelli from getting confirmed to any position.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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