US acting secretary of homeland security steps down

WASHINGTON -- US Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan stepped down Friday, according to US President Donald Trump.

"Kevin now, after many years in Government, wants to spend more time with his family and go to the private sector," Trump said in a pair of tweets, signaling that a new acting secretary will be announced next week.

McAleenan became the acting chief of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in April, after former DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned.

McAleenan, who oversaw an aggressive campaign to curb illegal immigrants from entering the United States from its southern border, voiced his frustrations to the press last week about the job.

"What I don't have control over is the tone, the message, the public face and approach of the department in an increasingly polarized time," he told the Washington Post.

Adding to his frustration was the White House's reluctance to nominate him as the secretary of the department, which undermined his authority.

Anti-immigration is a focus of Trump's policies, which often put the DHS under the scrutiny of the US media as it carried out raids and stepped up arrest of illegal immigrants.

McAleenan was the fourth official to lead the DHS under Trump and the second acting secretary. John Kelly and Nielsen was the first and second secretary of homeland security respectively.