Judge rules Ken Cuccinelli wasn't legally appointed to lead USCIS

A federal judge on Sunday ruled that President Trump's appointment last year of Ken Cuccinelli to lead U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was unlawful.

In June, Cuccinelli, an immigration hardliner, was named the agency's principal deputy director, but because the director of USCIS had just resigned, he immediately became the acting director. A lawsuit was filed on behalf of Honduran immigrants, arguing the Trump administration violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act when Cuccinelli was put in charge of the USCIS.

U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss agreed, and ruled that Cuccinelli did not have the legal authority to change U.S. asylum policies, and memorandums he signed need to be set aside. In July, Cuccinelli issued memos announcing that the agency was reducing the amount of time asylum seekers have to find legal representation and prohibiting them from seeking extensions to prepare for their credible-fear interviews.

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Cuccinelli is now the Department of Homeland Security's acting deputy secretary.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.