US President asks immigration services head to resign

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump asked the head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services to resign, leaving yet another vacancy within the department of homeland security. Lee Francis Cissna told staff on Friday that his last day would be June 1, according to a copy of the email.
Cissna leads the agency responsible for legal immigration, including benefits and visas. With his departure, there are more than a dozen vacancies of top leadership positions at the sprawling, 2,40,000-employee department. Some are being temporarily filled, including secretary and inspector general. Cissna’s position, like others, requires Senate confirmation.
Cissna had been on the chopping block last month amid a White House-orchestrated bloodbath that led to the resignation of secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, in part because aides felt he wasn’t moving quickly enough to tighten immigration rules and push through complicated regulation changes.
But his job was saved, temporarily, after high-ranking Republicans spoke out about his record. And it appeared he was back to business. Cissna said two weeks ago that his agency was training dozens of border patrol agents to start screening immigrants arriving for asylum. But Trump is dealing with a crisis as migrants cross the border each month and he has been unable to deliver on his signature issue of reduced immigration.