Tough anti-migrant stance: what is known about the new head of the US immigration service

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has long been known as the Department of Homeland Security's top immigration policy coordinator. It is no secret that Cucinelli is an opponent of birthright citizenship in the United States and an active supporter of border militarization. Now he will manage immigration issues officially.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Newsy

According to an email that was sent to US Citizenship and Immigration Officers on the morning of June 10, Cucinelli was appointed acting director of the agency, whose 19 000 employees manage the US immigration and naturalization system, writes The Daily Beast.

“We must work hand-in-hand with our colleagues at the Department of Homeland Security and federal partners to address challenges in the legal immigration system and ensure compliance with existing immigration laws,” Cuccinelli said in a letter to his new colleagues. “Together we will continue to work to stop the crisis on the southwest border.”

Cuccinelli also promises to "work to find long-term solutions to close the asylum loopholes that prompt many to make the dangerous journey to the United States, so that those who truly need humanitarian protection... receive it."

Cucinelli has long led an aggressive anti-immigrant policy aimed at restricting access to public services, employment, and even the citizenship of migrants and their families. A written appeal, combined with the loud defense of President Donald Trump in the media, confirms that Cucinelli’s beliefs are firmly in line with the policies of the Trump administration, which made fighting immigration illegal its main objective.

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Although Cucinelli first drew the attention of the whole country when he served as the Attorney General of the State of Virginia, for his attempts to keep laws in force that prohibit oral sex, he also became a strong supporter of aggressive immigration policies in other states.

In 2010, Cucinelli supported Arizona law, which allowed police officers to investigate the immigration status of any person arrested or detained by law enforcement agencies on the basis of “reasonable suspicion” that a person is in the country illegally. In the same year, he issued a legal document extending such a policy to include any suspected illegal immigrant detained by law enforcement agencies for any reason.

For eight years in the Virginia State Senate, Cucinelli was the main patron of a number of bills aimed at combating illegal immigration.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Newsy

One of the proposed laws would allow employers to lay off employees who do not speak English in their workplace without the right to unemployment benefits. Another bill would allow companies to sue competitors who allegedly hired unregistered immigrants, with economic damages paid plus 500 dollars "for every illegal foreigner hired by the defendant."

In the 2008 bill, Cucinelli called on Congress to amend the 14 amendment to the US Constitution, which states that "a person born of one of the parents who is a US citizen is also a citizen of the United States" to exclude unregistered children from this rule immigrants who were born in the USA.

Immigration advocates called the appointment of Kuchinelli acting head of the country's highest immigration agency "deeply disturbing."

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“Whether Ken Cuccinelli's appointment is legal remains to be seen,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, noting that the appointment appears to circumvent the federal Vacancies Reform Act. “Cuccinelli’s record of anti-immigrant positions and statements is deeply troubling.” We need unifying solutions and smart policies on immigration, not further polarization of opinion. Cucinelli's appointment does not bode well."

Once in 2013, Cucinelli lost the race for governor, during which he tried to hide his "achievements" in the field of immigration, he became the mainstay of conservative media, especially after Trump was elected. Cucinelli urged to militarize the border, not letting immigrants from Central America into the country to prevent the formation of the so-called "caravans".

And once, Cucinelli became the object of close attention of the press, when in an interview on CNN, he told journalist Ana Navarro that he was “tired of listening to your shrill voice”.

Joining the administration in an official capacity is the last step in a long journey, which began with the republican primaries in the 2016 year. Despite the unanimous attitude to the immigration of Kuchinelli and Trump, he supported the most loyal opponent of the current president in those elections - Ted Cruz, who was going to remove Trump’s candidacy within the party. Then, Cucinelli called “disgusting” the fact that the organizers of the national convention of the Republicans refused to challenge Trump's nomination at the final vote.

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