FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2020, file photo, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s acting head of the Department of Homeland Security abruptly resigned Monday, leaving the post ahead of schedule as the nation faces a heightened terrorism threat from extremists seeking to reverse the election. The announcement by acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf was perplexing. Peter Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will serve as acting head of the Department of Homeland Security until the Biden administration takes over. Trump appointed Wolf acting secretary in November 2019, following the resignation of Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary who took over following the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Documents in the report suggest Health and Human Services officials weren't told by the Department of Homeland Security why shelters were receiving more children taken from their parents in late 2017. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released the report Thursday with emails obtained from government agencies. The report outlines discussions since the start of the Trump administration of family separation as a law enforcement tactic. Documents in the new report suggest CBP did not communicate with HHS about why shelters were receiving more separated children. The email notes “the increase in referrals” of children unaccompanied by a parent “resulting from separation of children from parents.” White sent McAleenan a chart of all the children HHS had received.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White found Kevin McAleenan improperly leapfrogged to acting secretary when Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April 2019. The Homeland Security and Justice departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency with Homeland Security that awards citizenship, green cards and temporary work permits, said it was reviewing the decision. Eight advocacy groups sued the administration in August after Homeland Security published a final version of the fee hikes, incorporating public feedback. McAleenan initially proposed the hikes in November in one of his last acts as acting secretary.

WASHINGTON – A whistleblower's complaint and a tight timeline are making it increasingly unlikely that the Senate will confirm Chad Wolf as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before the election. President Donald Trump formally sent the nomination late Thursday to the Senate after announcing his intention to appoint Wolf in a tweet last month. But the full Senate is unlikely to hold a confirmation vote before the election, said two Republican aides granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Trump appointed Wolf acting secretary in November 2019, following the resignation of Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary who took over following the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. “Their toxic and unethical actions are wholly incompatible with the non-partisan mission of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said.

Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to examine Department of Homeland Security personnel deployments to recent protests on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Washington. (Toni Sandys/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will nominate acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to the top spot in the agency. I am pleased to inform the American Public that Acting Secretary Chad Wolf will be nominated to be the Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump tweeted. Wolf was named acting secretary in November 2019 after Trump removed his predecessor, acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan after six months in the post leading an agency that has the third largest budget in the federal government. The nomination comes amid uncertainty over whether Wolf, as well as acting deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, has been legally entitled to hold the top job at DHS.

APWASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate is aiming to hold a vote on the nomination of Chad Wolf, the incoming acting Homeland Security secretary, early next week for the post he currently serves in at the Department of Homeland Security, according to a congressional staffer familiar with the plans. The latest push to get Wolf confirmed comes after Trump seemingly named him the acting Homeland Security secretary. White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters that current acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan would be leaving on Veterans Day and Wolf would then serve as acting secretary. But before Wolf takes the job, the Senate is trying to usher forward Wolf's nomination for the undersecretary role. It's unclear whether he'll face similar pushback when the Senate votes and if that will stall his ascension to acting Homeland Security secretary.

President Donald Trump appeared Friday to name Chad Wolf, an official at the Department of Homeland Security, as the agency's acting secretary, three weeks after Kevin McAleenan submitted his resignation to the White House. WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Donald Trump appeared Friday to name Chad Wolf, an official at the Department of Homeland Security, as the agency's acting secretary, three weeks after Kevin McAleenan submitted his resignation to the White House. When asked about the President's comments, a Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN that "McAleenan is the acting secretary. Wolf is the acting undersecretary for policy," which is the role Wolf currently holds. Wolf previously served as chief of staff to former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

But with acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan's Thursday departure date rapidly approaching, officials said McAleenan could stay up to a week longer to ensure a smooth transition. The official said the White House has determined Trump has that legal authority under a mechanism first reported by The New York Times. McAleenan, who's served as acting secretary since April, submitted his resignation to the White House earlier this month. In April, the White House's growing frustration with leadership led to the ouster that placed McAleenan at the helm. The White House also considered Chad Wolf to replace the outgoing acting Homeland Security secretary, according to two sources familiar with the process.

(CNN) - Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan will now testify Wednesday at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on global terrorism, the committee and the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday. McAleenan had said last week that he would not appear for the hearing, despite being issued a subpoena by the committee. The subpoena has been withdrawn since McAleenan has agreed to voluntarily appear at the hearing, according to a letter from House Homeland Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson. Thompson had issued subpoenas last week to McAleenan and acting National Counterterrorism Center Director Russell Travers to appear at the hearing Wednesday on terrorist threats facing the country. While Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, and the acting secretary have previously worked together cooperatively, their correspondence regarding the subpoena had appeared tense.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Immigration hardliner Julie Kirchner, Department of Homeland Security citizenship and immigration ombudsman, offered her resignation to President Donald Trump this week, according to a letter from acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan sent on Monday. Kirchner, who has led the ombudsman office for the past two years, was previously the executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which advocates for lower legal immigration. She worked at FAIR for nearly 10 years before joining Trump's presidential campaign as an immigration adviser. The Homeland Security ombudsman office is responsible for helping individuals and sponsors navigate the legal immigration system and resolving problems with applications for immigration benefits that are processed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Michael Dougherty, the current Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Border, Immigration and Trade Policy, will succeed her as the ombudsman.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan informed the House Homeland Security Committee on Friday that he won't testify at a scheduled hearing next week, despite being issued a subpoena. In a testy letter to Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, McAleenan said he was "disappointed, and extremely surprised" to receive the subpoena. The Mississippi Democrat and the acting secretary have previously worked together cooperatively. In the letter, McAleenan writes that Thompson refused to limit questioning to the topic of the hearing. The acting secretary offered for Homeland Security Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis David Glawe to testify instead or to find a date for his successor to testify.

(CNN) - The White House is considering Chad Wolf to replace the outgoing acting Homeland Security secretary, according to two sources familiar with the process. Wolf, a senior department official, previously served as chief of staff to former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. It's unclear who else is under consideration for the top Homeland Security role. When asked if he had concerns about the policy at the time, Wolf said, "My job wasn't to determine whether it was the right or wrong policy. Wolf worked for the Transportation Security Administration, during its inception shortly after 9/11, and again joined the department after Trump took office.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The White House's personnel director has told President Donald Trump that neither immigration hardliner Ken Cuccinelli nor Customs and Border Protection chief Mark Morgan are eligible to succeed Kevin McAleenan as acting Homeland Security secretary, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN. The administration is yet again seeking someone to fill the top post at the Department of Homeland Security, after a year of high border apprehension numbers and leadership turnover. Cuccinelli was immediately rumored to be among the candidates considered for the acting secretary job. But there are legal hurdles to installing Cuccinelli as acting Homeland Security secretary. "The first possibility is precluded by statute (the Deputy DHS secretary is the 'first assistant,' and Cuccinelli isn't that).

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Outgoing acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan announced on Thursday the restoration of previously frozen foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The source said $143 million would be released in targeted foreign aid, a partial reinstatement of the initial freeze. President Donald Trump on Wednesday tweeted that in the wake of the agreements, aid would be turned back on. "Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador have all signed historic Asylum Cooperation Agreements and are working to end the scourge of human smuggling. The State Department had frozen such aid earlier this year as part of an effort to reduce migration from the Northern Triangle countries.

On Friday, Kevin McAleenan, who assumed the post of acting Homeland Security Secretary in April, announced his resignation. "That gets to be pretty discouraging because they don't see pathway to advance, because everything is on hold," said a former DHS official, referring to the workforce. A DHS official said, "The departure is a terrible loss for the morale and reputation" of the department. It's unclear if he'll assume the role of acting secretary in the wake of McAleenan's departure. No one was genuinely shocked, but when it hits, it hits," said a DHS official.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security since April and the fourth person to serve in that post since the Trump presidency began, submitted his resignation to the White House on Friday, a source tells CNN. McAleenan also has two young daughters and a wife with whom he wants to spend more time. A source close to the process told CNN that White House officials tried to talk McAleenan out of resigning. Still, the acting secretary has been able to point to concrete accomplishments. Border apprehensions have declined significantly, numbers that included Central Americans and families crossing the border, representing the heart of the crisis.

(CNN) - Border Patrol arrests on the US-Mexico border continued to drop in September, marking a steady decline since the high earlier this spring when Trump administration officials struggled to stem the flow of migrants attempting to enter the US. There were nearly 40,000 arrests on the southern border in September, which was the lowest month this fiscal year, according to a source familiar with the data. Apprehensions along the southern border were higher in fiscal year 2019 than in any fiscal year since 2007, with slightly more than 850,000 arrests, according to Border Patrol data. Border Patrol apprehensions, which are used as a measure of illegal crossings, are particularly important to President Donald Trump, who views them as a barometer of the situation along the southern border, according to administration officials. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees US Border Patrol, does not comment on unofficial numbers.

(CNN) - Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan was prevented from speaking at an event Monday morning in Washington after repeated interruptions by protesters. Doris Meissner, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, sitting beside McAleenan, pleaded with the protesters to stop. We respect your right to protest, but in respect to the audience who wants to hear the speaker, please." Event organizers for Monday's event regretted that McAleenan was unable to deliver his keynote address. "However we stand by our decision to host key decision-makers for this exchange of views and regret that the actions of protesters made it impossible."

CNN imageMENLO PARK, Calif. - US Attorney General William Barr and senior government officials from the UK and Australia are formally asking Facebook to give up on its plan to encrypt user messages across its platforms. The encryption debate, which pits tech companies that want to ensure user communications are private and secure against law enforcement's desire to access such messages, is decades old. "We respect and support the role law enforcement has in keeping people safe," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement provided to CNN. "We strongly oppose government attempts to build backdoors because they would undermine the privacy and security of people everywhere." 'It would fundamentally compromise the security and privacy of encrypted communications on Facebook."

The deal, which aims to recognize and build El Salvador's asylum system, could allow the US to send some asylum seekers back to El Salvador if they didn't first claim asylum when passing through the country, an administration official said. Hill said in order to increase its asylum capabilities, El Salvador needs support from the US to tackle gangs and violence, as well as "more investment," including for border security, biometric collection and resettlement. Advocates already criticized the announcement, saying that El Salvador is one of the most dangerous countries in the western hemisphere. President Trump must reverse this lethal decision before it goes into effect or the lives lost will be on his hands." In July, the US signed an asylum agreement with Guatemala in the Oval Office that intended to commit Guatemala to extend asylum to migrants who seek it when they're moving through the country.

(CNN) - Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan on Friday released the department's counterterrorism strategy, outlining the ongoing threats from foreign terrorism and focusing on domestic terror threats, particularly white supremacism. McAleenan called white supremacist extremism is one of the most "potent ideologies" driving acts violence in the US. "In our modern age, the continued menace of racially based violent extremism, particularly white supremacist extremism, is an abhorrent affront to the nation, the struggle and unity of its diverse population," he said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. He pointed to the attacks in Poway, El Paso, Pittsburgh and Charleston, saying they were motivated by various extremist ideologies, including "very concerningly and increasingly, white supremacist violent extremism." And I think it's long been the President's view that without recognizing that we're in an ideological struggle, that we can't properly address the terrorist threat."

Getty ImagesWASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday issued a subpoena for documents related to reports of President Donald Trump offering pardons to administration officials in his push to further his immigration agenda. The subpoena to the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday targets Trump's reported dangling of pardons. "The Framers did not envision the use of the presidential pardon power to encourage criminal acts at the President's direction," said House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, in a statement. In April, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to McAleenan requesting information from the administration about reports of pardons. The subpoena for documents, which was issued to McAleenan, is the latest in a series of subpoenas the panel has issued in recent weeks.

(CNN) - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, along with 18 other state attorneys general, announced a lawsuit Monday challenging the Trump administration's new rule to hold migrant families in detention indefinitely. "This new Trump rule callously puts at risk the safety and well-being of children. "We're taking the Trump Administration to court to protect children from the irreparable harm caused by unlawful and unnecessary detention." The rule, unveiled by the Department of Homeland Security last week, replaces the so-called Flores Agreement that set a 20-day limit for holding children. Becerra, along with other attorneys general, also opposed the Trump administration's initial proposal to extend detention of migrant families.

DHS public affairs Assistant Secretary Andrew Meehan decided to resign two weeks ago and his last day will be Sept. 20, according to a DHS official. WASHINGTON (CNN) - A senior official in the Department of Homeland Security will leave the agency next month, marking the latest top DHS official to leave the administration in recent months. DHS public affairs Assistant Secretary Andrew Meehan decided to resign two weeks ago and his last day will be Sept. 20, according to a DHS official. Meehan has been a close confidant of acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, joining him at DHS headquarters to run the public affairs office. Meehan, who also oversaw public affairs at Customs and Border Protection, is the latest public affairs official expected to leave the department.

CNN VideoMcALLEN, Texas (CNN) - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says conditions at a Texas border detention facility are inhumane.Schumer and a group of other Democratic senators, including Oregon senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, toured the facility in McAllen on Friday. "It's been a very, very difficult day to see these people, particularly the children, treated in such inhumane conditions. (It) just tears at your heart strings and really makes you feel awful, Schumer said. They let us see whatever we wanted to see but we were told that they tried to make things look better. But even with that, it's awful the conditions that these people are placed in."

(CNN) - Pediatricians shared disturbing images drawn by migrant children who were recently separated from their parents while in US Customs and Border Protection custody. The staff at the center asked the children to depict their time in CBP custody. McAleenan, who is now acting secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, requested the meetings after two children died in CBP custody. A pediatrician caring for migrant children at an El Paso hospital said CBP's screening for children in its custody is "absolutely and unequivocally inadequate." He said other doctors would disagree with the AAP pediatricians about the health conditions for migrant children.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(CNN) - The FBI has seen a significant rise in the number of white supremacist domestic terrorism cases in recent months, a senior FBI counterterrorism official said Thursday. The domestic terror cases generally include suspects involved in violence related to anti-government views, racial or religious bias, environmental extremism and abortion-related views. The FBI wouldn't provide specific numbers to quantify the increase of in the number of white supremacist domestic terrorism cases. Unlike international terrorism investigations, domestic terrorism cases pose thornier issues for the FBI because of First Amendment protections. The US doesn't have a domestic terrorism law and no government agency designates domestic groups as being terrorist organizations.