John Kelly ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to push the false narrative of undocumented immigrants as criminals to justify nationwide raids. [Sources: America's Voice, The Intercept]
Kelly has a history of misguided, inflammatory statements with regard to America's enemies, women in the military, and criticism of American foreign policy. [Sources: The Washington Post, The Intercept]
During his time at the Department of Homeland Security, Kelly eliminated guidelines that governed federal immigration agents’ work; vastly expanded the categories of immigrants being targeted for deportation; threatened to abandon the Obama-era program that grants legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children; and authored the idea of splitting up mothers and children at the border to “deter” people from coming to the U.S. [Sources: The New Yorker, CNN, CNN]
In a show of blind loyalty, he erroneously claimed responsiblity for the travel ban that preemptively villified travelers from seven nations as potential terrorists. [Sources: NPR, The Nation]
In May 2019, Caliburn International confirmed that Kelly joined its board of directors, putting himself in the position to financially benefit from the extended detention of migrant children. Homestead, an unlicensed shelter used for housing up to 3,200 migrant children, is operated by Comprehensive Health Services, which is under Caliburn International. [Sources: CBS News, CBS News]