Raul Reyes

Opinion columnist

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan was leaving the administration after six months on the job. The president tweeted that they had “worked well together with Border Crossings being way down.” McAleenan, who replaced Kirstjen Nielsen in April, was Trump’s fourth homeland security chief.

News accounts of McAleenan’s departure generally praised him as professional and apolitical. But such kind words do not accurately reflect his shameful legacy. McAleenan actively worked to gut asylum law. He rolled out harsh restrictions on legal immigration. He dismissed concerns about inhumane conditions in immigrant detention. And he was among the architects of the “zero tolerance” policy that resulted in the horror of family separations.

Harming immigrant communities

At Homeland Security, McAleenan presided over two policies that severely restricted the legal right to claim asylum at our southern border. He dramatically expanded the Migrant Protection Protocols program that forces asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico while their claims are heard in the United States. Nearly 58,000 asylum-seekers have been left to await their fate on the Mexican side of the border. Some tire of the waiting and abandon their claims; others fall victim to kidnappers and criminals who target returned migrants.

In addition, McAleenan was responsible for deals with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador that require asylum-seekers to seek refuge in any country they pass through on their way to the United States. These "safe third country" agreements basically outsource our border crisis to countries that are not safe and that lack functioning asylum systems. These deals mean that Central American women, children and LGBTQ refugees will face hardship, violence and even death — all because the United States has abandoned its commitment to providing humanitarian relief to those fleeing persecution.

A true crisis:Asylum-seekers I meet flee something even worse than Trump's unethical immigration agenda

In August, McAleenan’s DHS unveiled its “public charge" rule, which would make it more difficult for immigrants to obtain green cards. The rule would deny legal residency to immigrants who have used, or were deemed likely to use, government services. Think of the rule as codifying Trump’s preference as reported by CNN, for immigrants from Norway rather than those from “s---hole countries.”

The rule would likely benefit wealthy, educated European and Canadian immigrants over working-class people from Africa and Latin America. Although it has been blocked by the courts for now, some legal immigrants and their families have already stopped accessing public services to which they are in fact entitled.

At DHS, McAleenan proved himself unworthy of public trust. In June, he denied reports of squalid conditions for immigrants in detention, calling the allegations “unsubstantiated” and the facilities “clean and well-managed.” Yet, a July report from DHS’ inspector general found widespread overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in detention. Either McAleenan was woefully ignorant about conditions that his agency was supposed to be overseeing, or he was lying about them. Immigrant advocacy groups have called out McAleenan for falsely suggesting to Congress that most asylum-seekers do not show up for court appearances.

Misplaced priorities by the DHS

McAleenan’s DHS also directed resources away from the threat of right-wing, domestic terrorism. It was only after the massacre of 22 Latinos in El Paso, Texas, that he called for more funds to fight dangerous, homegrown ideologies, saying, “We need to invest more.”

On Friday, Trump tweeted that McAleenan was leaving DHS because he “wants to spend more time with his family and go to the private sector.” How ironic that McAleenan seeks family time, in contrast to the thousands of parents and children who were affected by the Trump administration’s family separations. It was McAleenan who co-wrote the memo stating that DHS could “direct the separation of parents or legal guardians and minors held in immigration detention so that the parent or legal guardian can be prosecuted.” He owns the family separations debacle as much as his DHS predecessor, Nielsen.

Ignoring our legacy:Asylum-seekers I meet flee something even worse than Trump's unethical immigration agenda

In hindsight, McAleenan says that the family separations “went too far.” But he might be saying that because he is concerned about his future. Last week, he was shouted off the stage at a conference, so he may find the private sector less than welcoming. Just as some migrant families will be forever traumatized by their forced separations, McAleenan’s reputation will be forever tarnished by his enforcement of such an abhorrent policy.

True, McAleenan helped Trump achieve his goal of curtailing arrivals at the southern border. Migrant apprehensions have dropped from nearly 133,000 in May to nearly 51,000 in August.

Yet at what cost? McAleenan is leaving his agency in turmoil, wracked by low morale. He facilitated immigration policies rooted in racism and xenophobia. He allowed himself to be the public face, on immigration, of an amoral administration. He disregarded the safety of detainees and asylum-seekers in service to a president who sees migrants as invaders.

Over the past six months, McAleenan has destroyed his credibility, exacerbated the humanitarian crisis at the border and betrayed American values. His tenure at DHS is a sad example of unprincipled, failed leadership.

Raul Reyes, an attorney, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter: @RaulAReyes