Trump wants to put a former hate group leader in charge of Citizenship and Immigration Services: report

On Wednesday, Politico reported that President Donald Trump wants to name Julie Kirchner to lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency in charge of processing immigration and naturalization.

Kirchner, who currently serves as ombudsman to the agency, is the former leader of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The Southern Poverty Law Center lists FAIR as a hate group "because it promotes hatred of immigrants, especially non-white ones."

FAIR was founded in 1979 by John Tanton, a white supremacist and eugenicist who has said U.S. immigration policy must preserve "an ethnic white majority." The group has also received support from the Pioneer Fund, a group that advocates "race betterment" by protecting the genes of people "deemed to be descended predominantly from white persons who settled in the original thirteen states prior to the adoption of the Constitution."

USCIS is currently run by Francis Cissna, who is expected to be ousted this week. Kirchner is reportedly only one contender to replace him and no final decision has been made.

The president has pursued a massive shakeup of leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, pushing out many top-level officials including Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.