Ken Cuccinelli Appointed Acting Director of USCIS

Effective today, June 10, 2019, Ken Cuccinelli is the new acting director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Cuccinelli will be in charge of leading the agency, which has 19,000 employees and contractors responsible for administering the country's legal immigration system.

Kevin McAleenan, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, today made the official announcement of the appointment.

Cuccinelli replaces Lee Francis Cissna, who resigned at the request of President Donald Trump in late May. Cissna was confirmed by the Senate in October 2017 and was in charge of the agency for nearly two years.

Cuccinelli, a member of the Republican Party, previously served as Virginia's state attorney general from 2010 to 2014.

His appointment must be ratified by the U.S. Senate .