Kirstjen Nielsen Quit Because 'Saying No' Was Not Enough

Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday she resigned from her post as Homeland Security secretary in April when "it became clear that saying no and refusing to do it myself" to carrying out demands from the Trump administration was "not going to be enough."

"What led me to resign is there were a lot of things that there were those in the administration who thought that we should do," Nielsen, who was at one time in charge of implementing President Donald Trump's immigration policies, said during an interview at Fortune magazine's "Most Powerful Women" summit in Washington, D.C., reports The Hill.

"Just as I spoke truth to power in the very beginning, it became clear that saying no and refusing to do it myself was not going to be enough," she added.

Nielsen said she does not regret signing the memo leading to the controversial policies that left thousands of families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

"I don't regret enforcing the law, because I took an oath to do that, as did everybody at the Department of Homeland Security," she told "PBS NewsHour's" Amna Nawaz. "We don't make the laws."

Earlier this month, Nielsen rejoined the administration as an appointed member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which gives the White House advice on practices for reducing physical and cyber threats.

Thousands of families are still separated after Trump signed an executive order to end the immigration party, and Nielsen said Tuesday she wishes "coordination and information flow" had worked a lot better, as it was "simply insufficient" for the number of immigrants coming. 

Nielsen's conference appearance was met with controversy, with singer Brandi Carlile announcing on Twitter she was dropping out because she does not think "human rights violators and merit-based abusers of displaced people should be given a platform to 'reimagine' history."

Hillary Clinton, who was also scheduled to speak at the summit, also reportedly stayed away because of Nielsen. 

• Nielsen Was Ousted After Challenging Plans for Mass Arrests
• Dems, Republicans Slam Nielsen on Resignation