Top US diplomat for Latin America resigns

ANKARA/WASHINGTON

The top U.S. diplomat for Latin America resigned amid internal disputes about immigration policy for the region, according to a report published Thursday.

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kimberly Breier confirmed on Twitter that she stepped down, voicing "profound thanks" to U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "for the opportunity to serve."

But a U.S. official who spoke to the Washington Post newspaper suggested the resignation was prompted by differences about a recent migration agreement with Guatemala.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that Breier was not necessarily opposed to administration policies in the region.

One official said she was chastised in an email chain by Trump’s far-right senior advisor Stephen Miller, who considered her "insufficiently committed to publicly defending" the safe third country agreement between the U.S. and Guatemala to reduce immigration flows.

The agreement forces Central American migrants to apply for asylum in Guatemala and be rejected in that country before they can apply in the U.S. even though under U.S. law migrants are allowed to apply for asylum within the U.S. or at official ports of entry.

A second official who spoke to the newspaper under the same ground rules denied Miller chastised her and rejected the existence of the email chain leaving unclear the nature of her departure.

Trump has taken successive actions to stymy the process the process, however, instituting several measures including “metering,” or regulating the number of people who can apply at border stations each day, which has dramatically slowed the application process.

Pompeo accepted Brier’s resignation earlier this week, the officials added.

Breier did not state whether the Guatemala issue was a principal cause of the resignation.

Hers is just the latest in a long series of turnovers of senior State Department officials with at least four assistant secretaries departing this year alone, according to the Post.

Meanwhile, scores of migrants from Central American countries are grappling with the U.S. anti-migrant policy at the border.

Trump has pursued a hardline approach to immigration, both legal and illegal, since coming to office and has particularly singled out Mexico for what he says is a lack of action to stem migrant flows, where people are fleeing destitute conditions, including rampant poverty and gang violence in the hopes of securing safety or asylum in the U.S.

In May, Trump announced tariffs on imports of Mexican goods that were ultimately averted when the U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement the following month that included Mexican efforts to increase security at the country’s northern border as well as additional efforts to stem migrant flows.