The Senate has voted convincingly to put a tough-talking retired Marine general in charge of overseeing President Donald Trump's pledge to crack down on illegal immigration.
Senators confirmed John Kelly's nomination to lead the Homeland Security Department, 88-11.
Among Kelly's likely first assignments will be executing Trump's plans for the fate of a program that has protected more than 750,000 young immigrants from deportation.
If Trump keeps his campaign promises, Kelly's agency will be responsible for strengthening the screening of immigrants permitted to enter the U.S. His department also will be charged with finding additional resources to locate and deport people living here illegally.
Kelly says he's in favor of a wall at the Mexican border, but he says a physical barrier alone isn't enough to secure the 2,000-mile frontier.
