The former director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, who was booted by President Donald Trump in May, has reportedly returned to the Department of Homeland Security in a policy role.
"Prior to his appointment as the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Francis Cissna was a career official in the Department's Office of Policy, where he has assumed new duties," a DHS spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.
Cissna was pushed out by the White House amid a purge of top DHS officials that also resulted in the ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Acting ICE Director Ronald Vitiello.
The White House tapped former Virginia attorney general and immigration hardliner Ken Cuccinelli to fill the position on an acting basis.
Since taking office, Cuccinelli has been outspoken in his support for the president's hardline immigration agenda, becoming the de facto spokesperson for the entire DHS and rolling out the "public charge" regulation — started under Cissna — that will make it harder for low-income immigrants to obtain green cards or temporary visas if they use certain welfare benefits.
It was also during Cissna's tenure that USCIS sparked controversy by scrapping the "nation of immigrants" passage from its mission statement.
News of Cissna's new role caught some officials off guard, BuzzFeed News reported.
"It's like having your ex over for holidays with your new in-laws," an unnamed administration official told the news outlet. "Super awkward."
"Given the way the administration disposed of him so publicly from USCIS, it's hard to see how he'll be able to get anything done in this key immigration policy office at DHS," a USCIS official told BuzzFeed News.
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