Nielsen's resignation is a blow to Trump's migration policy

 Sunday, the world was rocked by the shock As the secretary, Nielsen directly oversaw issues pertaining to American border security and as a result, played a decisive role in the execution of the Trump administration's controversial immigration policies, including the infamous “border wall” with Mexico.

In her resignation letter, Nielsen notably did not express a specific reason for her departure, thanking the administration and proclaiming the standing policies as a success which has “made America safer”

However, one does not need words to figure out why this happened. Even if she is unwilling to publicly undermine the President's position, it should be obvious to any observer that the President's border policies have been disastrous and morally questionable. Relying extensively on identity politics to bolster his support, the Presidency has been on the retreat on this issue since the mid-term elections.

Trump's only solution has been to double down on it and opt for harsher, and thus more indefensible approaches. Thus, placed in a precarious position, it should be clear that Nielsen resigned in an attempt to save her own reputation and public face, cutting her losses in the face of growing criticism. Knowing that she cannot resist the President, the only way was out. The blow to his credibility on this issue is huge.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen speaks during a multilateral meeting in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, March 27, 2019. /VCG Photo

Since the beginning, aggressive talk on immigration has been a core component of the President's political platform, simply because of the support he has been able to draw by whipping up hysteria on the issue from disaffected voters fearful of demographic change.

Indeed, back in 2015, few took his campaign seriously until his branding of Mexicans as “rapists” and “bringing drugs”, as well as his pledge to build the wall, saw him soar in Republican polls. The support in which these initiatives gained for him saw his efforts completely re-write the paradigm of GOP politics from an emphasis on Christian themed conservatism, to explicit “America First” nationalism.

Given Trump's reliance on identity politics for his own success, the President has subsequently continued his usage of inflammatory hysteria to exacerbate the migration issue and control the narrative to his own gain. This has resulted in a series of acts, measures, and comments which have brought about an extreme controversy.

Since 2018, his policy of keeping migrants in cages and separating children from families has drawn widespread condemnation, as well as threats to send troops to the border, play with talk of using “live fire”, even close the border outright, abuse emergency powers and most recently, refer to the migrants as “animals”, have drawn widespread condemnation.

However, these initiatives have not translated into success for the President, but have intensified the pressure upon him and have placed him on a losing battle. In the run-up to the mid-term congressional elections in November, the President was desperate to again weaponize the illegal immigration issue to withstand a challenge for the Democrats.

It failed and the Republicans lost the House of Representatives. Given the scale of the opposition to his policies in this area owing to its polarizing effect, the Democrat house has chosen it as its primary theater of the battle against the President. Thus, the one-month long shutdown over his wall became the most visible output of it, Nancy Pelosi forcing the President to retreat and drop the measure from the mainstream budget.

Placed on the defensive, Trump's response has to be to only push even harder on migration, hence his recent comments. This has reportedly led to behind the scenes clashes in the White House. For secretary of Homeland security Kirstjen Nielsen, this has placed her in a precarious position. Nielsen has already taken a great deal of public scrutiny and pressure for having to implement Trump's policies, which has resulted in instances such as being heckled in public.

U.S. President Donald Trump clasps hands with Kirstjen Nielsen after nominating her to be the next Homeland Security Secretary in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. US, October 12, 2017. /VCG Photo

With controversy growing over the President's aggressive approach, her own reputation is being subsequently damaged. Thus, for Trump to demand an even more hardline approach, is not good news for her. The President does not like people who disagree with him and since 2017, has an extensive history of peddling anyone who questions his approach and replacing them with hardliners.

Hence, on this basis it is likely the term termination of her position was mutually agreed. Needing to save face, she stepped down, praised the President's policies and got out before things went further downhill; knowing fine well that if she stayed and resisted she would have been pushed.

However, in summary, her resignation is a blow to the credibility of Trump's border migration policy, if of course it ever had any credibility at all. Her departure signals that the President's increasingly aggressive proposals and rhetoric are neither tenable nor rational.

In which case, it illustrates a severe lack of confidence behind the scenes in Trump's leadership and personal ethics. The ever-revolving door of resignations and dismissals from the White House continues. His migration policy as a whole is little more than an opportunistic pursuit of identity politics void of conscience, common sense and pragmatism. Trump will not gain the success he craves from it.

(CGTN)