Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of directors of the company that operates the country’s largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Caliburn International runs a facility in Homestead, Fla., that began expanding in December to be able to hold more than 3,000 migrant children. It’s also the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, which runs three other shelters in Texas.
“With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, in-depth understanding of international affairs, and knowledge of current economic drivers around the world, General Kelly is a strong strategic addition to our team,” Caliburn CEO James Van Dusen told CBS News.
“Our board remains acutely focused on advising on the safety and welfare of unaccompanied minors who have been entrusted to our care and custody by the Department of Health and Human Services to address a very urgent need in caring for and helping to find appropriate sponsors for these unaccompanied minors,” he said.
Kelly served as homeland security secretary until he was named Trump’s chief of staff in July 2017. He left the administration at the end of 2018 after a rocky tenure.
Trump has made immigration a focal point of his presidency, seeking to crack down on illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Kelly blamed the fallout from the administration’s controversial “zero-tolerance” policy of separating migrant children from their parents on former attorney general Jeff Sessions.
“What happened was Jeff Sessions, he was the one that instituted the zero-tolerance process on the border that resulted in both people being detained and the family separation,” Kelly said. “He surprised us.”
