A former chief of an anti-immigration group who was once a leading candidate for the top slot at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has resigned.

In an email to staff today, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said Julie Kirchner, the USCIS ombudsman, offered her resignation to President Donald Trump. McAleenan’s message did not say why Kirchner resigned; a senior DHS official told POLITICO that she left voluntarily for family reasons.


Kirchner is the former executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which pushes for lower levels of immigration. She joined the Trump administration shortly after the president took office as USCIS ombudsman, a position tasked with resolving problems with pending cases.