The US ambassador to Panama bashes Trump's immigration policies as 'anti-American' in scathing Washington Post op-ed

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March 9, 2018 10:46 PM

US diplomat John Feeley resigned on Friday from his post as the US ambassador to Panama because he believed he could no longer serve the Trump administration.

US diplomat John Feeley resigned on Friday from his post as the US ambassador to Panama because he believed he could no longer serve the Trump administration.
In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Feeley criticized Trump's immigration policy, calling it "foolish and delusional but also anti-American."
Feeley joined the State Department in 1990 and has mostly focused on foreign-policy issues in Latin America.

John Feeley, a longtime diplomat who resigned last year as the US ambassador to Panama in opposition to President Donald Trump, explained his decision in an op-ed in The Washington Post on Friday.

"I resigned because the traditional core values of the United States, as manifested in the president’s National Security Strategy and his foreign policies, have been warped and betrayed," Feeley wrote. "I could no longer represent [Trump] personally and remain faithful to my beliefs about what makes America truly great."

Feeley went on to criticize many of Trump's signature national-security and foreign policies, including the travel ban, plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, decision to end legal protections for the children of people living in the US illegally, and withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

"As the grandson of migrant stock from New York City, an Eagle Scout, a Marine Corps veteran and someone who has spent his diplomatic career in Latin America, I am convinced that the president’s policies regarding migration are not only foolish and delusional but also anti-American," Heeley wrote.

Despite his harsh words, Feeley said he is willing to have "respectful and nonconfrontational dialogue" with those who support Trump's immigration policy.

Feeley is reportedly set to begin working with Univision, an American TV network that caters to Hispanic-Americans, according to The Post.

Feeley's last day as US ambassador to Panama is Friday. He submitted his letter of resignation to State Department officials last December 27. Much to his chagrin, the letter was leaked to the press in January, which Feeley said was an indication "that the current administration has little respect for those who have served the nation apolitically for decades."

After serving in the US Marine Corps, Feeley joined the State Department in 1990. He has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, and in 2015, he was appointed the ambassador to Panama by President Barack Obama.

On March 1, US ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson announced she would resign from her post in May, making her the latest high-profile departure from the State Department.

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