Trump official ready to resign after being asked to deport 50,000 immigrants

Elaine Duke was asked to reverse a decision to extend a programme allowing protected residency status

Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Elaine Duke is resigning after the White House asked her to reverse an immigration decision. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is reportedly set to resign in light of being asked to reverse a decision extending temporary residents permits to thousands of Central American immigrants living in the US.

Ms Duke was reportedly asked by White House Chief of Staff and former head of DHS John Kelly to not allow some 57,000 Hondurans and 2,500 Nicaraguans to stay in the country on Temporary Protective Status (TPS).

DHS had a deadline of 6 November to make the decision for people who were allowed to remain in the US under TPS, a programme which began in 1990 to stop deportations to countries who could not handle an influx of people returning after natural disasters or other crises.

Several Hondurans arrived in the US after Hurricane Mitch had hit the Central American region in 1998.

Ms Duke felt it was a “politically driven intrusion” on the part of Mr Kelly and White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert, sources told the Washington Post.

Ms Duke ultimately decided to end the TPS programme for Nicaraguans - they have until January 2019 to leave or change status - but gave the Hondurans a six-month extension for the agency to make a decision.

According to officials, she felt she needed more information on the situation with Hondurans and had received calls from diplomats asking her to weigh the fate of those immigrants, who had lived in the country for decades, with care.

The Trump administration has said it feels the programme is being misused, to grant long-term residency rather than a short-term stay in emergency situations.

Mr Kelly reportedly told Ms Duke that she was “kicking the can down the road” and it was not in line with the administration’s immigration priorities.

Previous administrations have renewed TPS every 18 months.

He was also worried his nominated replacement Kirstjen Nielsen would face questions about it during her upcoming confirmation hearing, which she sailed through on 8 November.

An official told the newspaper that Ms Duke thought Mr Kelly’s urgent call from President Donald Trump’s Asia tour admonishing her decision was a “slap in the face”.

Ms Duke had been asked to remain as Ms Nielsen’s deputy but will leave when the new Secretary takes office, according to officials.

She had also been criticised during the weeks following Hurricane Maria making landfall in Puerto Rico. Ms Duke had said US federal relief efforts were a "good news" story.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz expressed her frustration on CNN about what she called an "irresponsible" statement: "this is a 'people are dying' story, this is a life and death story, this is a truckload of stuff that cannot be taken to people story."

Mr Trump has repeatedly called for an overhaul of the immigration system to emphasise a "merit-based" system for skilled labour immigrants.

Neither Ms Duke nor the White House has responded to the report yet.