worldwide reaction that Trump was forced to abandon the policy. And yet the president did not deem her tough enough on illegal immigration.

READ HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN'S RESIGNATION LETTER

In fact, based on reports from CNN and NBC, Trump wants to reinstate the family separation approach, and Nielsen's resistance to that may have been the final straw. She had asked for Sunday's sitdown.

"Mr. Trump in recent weeks had asked Ms. Nielsen to close the ports of entry along the border and to stop accepting asylum seekers, which Ms. Nielsen found ineffective and inappropriate," the Times says. "While the 30-minute meeting was cordial, Mr. Trump was determined to ask for her resignation. After the meeting, she submitted it."

Most pundits expected Nielsen to be dumped after the midterms, especially afterthe departure of her mentor, chief of staff John Kelly, who previously ran Homeland Security and pushed her for the post. But then her position seemed to stabilize.

In a possible harbinger, Lou Dobbs, the Fox Business host who speaks privately with Trump, called for Nielsen's firing on his show nearly two weeks ago.

More from the Times: "The president called Ms. Nielsen at home early in the mornings to demand that she take action to stop migrants from entering the country, including doing things that were clearly illegal, such as blocking all migrants from seeking asylum. She repeatedly noted the limitations imposed on her department by federal laws, court settlements and international obligations.

Those responses only infuriated Mr. Trump further."

Plus: "Multiple White House officials said she had grown deeply paranoid