Utah man nominated to be assistant secretary of state

Utah man nominated to be assistant secretary of state

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump has nominated a member of a Utah group which advocates for reducing immigrant populations to serve as assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration.

The White House announced Ronald Mortensen’s nomination on Thursday.

The Senate must confirm the Bountiful man for the job.

Mortensen was a Trump supporter in the 2016 election and is a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for reducing immigrant populations.

He is also the founder of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration that works to address “the negative impacts of illegal immigration.”

The Deseret News reports the retired Foreign Service officer helped organize a summit crucial to ending the Cold War and received recognition from the State Department for his courage during a civil war in Chad.