James D. Nealon

James Dinneen Nealon Jr. (born 1954) is an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Honduras from 2014 to 2017. After his service as ambassador, he worked in the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2018.

James D. Nealon Jr.
Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans
Acting
In office July 10, 2017 – February 8, 2018
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Chad Wolf
United States Ambassador to Honduras
In office August 21, 2014 – June 11, 2017
President	Barack Obama Donald Trump
Preceded by	Lisa Kubiske
Succeeded by	Heide B. Fulton (acting)
Personal details
Born	1954 (age 70–71)
Education	Brown University (BA) Boston College
Awards	Superior Honor Award

Biography

Born in Virginia, the son of a land surveyor,^[1] Nealon studied history at Brown University before studying at Boston College.

A career Foreign Service officer,^[2] Nealon held posts in Canada, Uruguay, Hungary, Spain, and Chile before assuming his post as Ambassador to Honduras in August 2014; Nealon also served as the deputy of John F. Kelly, whilst Kelly was in charge of the United States Southern Command.^[3]

After leaving his ambassadorship in 2017,^[4] Nealon was appointed assistant secretary for international engagement at the Department of Homeland Security by Kelly in July.^[5] During his time as assistant secretary, Nealon supported a policy of deploying Homeland Security agents abroad.^[6] He resigned his post on February 8, 2018, due to his disagreements with the immigration policy of Donald Trump,^[7] and, specifically, the withdrawal of temporary protected status for Hondurans.^[8][9]