Another Obama Holdover Bites the Dust: Lori Scialabba Is Leaving Homeland Security

Politics US News

Lori Scialabba has been with the United States Citizenship and Immigration since 2007 and stepped up as ‘acting director’ on Inauguration Day.

Much to NOBODY’S surprise, she openly defied President Trump’s refugee freeze when it was announced shortly thereafter.

Here is the memo she sent out directing her employees to continue processing documents for refugees from the countries named by Donald Trump.

Her name then appeared on a list compiled by Breitbart News entitled, “8 More Obama Bureaucrats Trump Can Fire or Remove at Homeland Security.”

Scialabba had been working for the federal government since 1985, when she took a job with the Department of Justice. She has been working in immigration-related offices within the government ever since.

The Intercept reported:

LESS THAN ONE week after senior leadership at the Department of Homeland Security issued a policy guidance that threatened to bring much of the government’s asylum and refugee work to a grinding halt, a new directive issued to employees appears to reverse key elements of the procedures U.S. immigration officials are expected to follow. The contradictory directives came as government agencies struggled to interpret and implement the Trump administration’s travel ban targeting seven Muslim-majority countries — a broad and ambiguous order that is already facing legal challenges in several federal courts across the country.

According to an internal memo issued Thursday by Lori Scialabba, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the portion of Trump’s controversial ban pertaining to the issuance of visas and other benefits to immigrants from the targeted countries “does not affect USCIS adjudication of applications and petitions filed for or on behalf of individuals in the United States regardless of their country or nationality.”

Her retirement announcement, sent via email to her staff on March 7:

Dear Colleagues,

After almost 33 years of public service, I will be retiring from the federal government at the end of March. I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with USCIS for over 10 years, first as the associate director of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate, and then serving as your deputy director for nearly six years. While the decision to leave USCIS was difficult, the opportunity presented was right for me. I have accepted a position in the private sector and look forward to the new challenge.

I come from a strong public service background and I’ve been lucky to work in agencies with a meaningful mission. The work USCIS performs is of great importance, and has been an extraordinary part of my life. My entire career has been dedicated to the fascinating and complicated subject of immigration law, policy, and operations and I have enjoyed the challenge and reward of serving in the federal government.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all of you. During my time at USCIS, I have remained impressed by the quality and dedication of the workforce. You work tirelessly to fulfill our mission in a professional, compassionate manner while ensuring the integrity of the immigration system and the security of our nation. I am very proud of everything you have accomplished and very proud to have been the deputy director of USCIS.

Best wishes,

Lori Scialabba

Acting Director

Aaaaand another one bites the dust!

 

 

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