President-Elect Donald Trump announced that he is nominating retired Marine General John F. Kelly as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.  The Department of Homeland Security is one of the largest Cabinet departments in the federal government and is responsible for enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, among other responsibilities.

General Kelly is a four-star General who was most recently head of the United States Southern Command, a unified Combatant Command located within the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for operations, security, and contingency planning in the Caribbean, Central and South America.  General Kelly also served as the Assistant Commander of the First Marine Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 and was named the U.S. Top Commander in Iraq in 2008.  General Kelly is a widely-respected military officer whose son was killed during combat in Afghanistan in 2010.  His combination of military and southern-border experience in addition to his personal experience with the sacrifices inherent in war and combat have been suggested as leading reasons for his nomination.  In order to assume his nominated role as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security General Kelly will need to be confirmed by the Senate, where he is not expected to face much opposition.