DHS’s tough new immig plan

FEDERAL AGENTS and local law enforcement will have more power to aggressively pursue, arrest and deport illegal immigrants, according to new guidelines signed by the head of Homeland Security on Friday.

DHS Secretary John Kelly has laid out a series of sweeping changes to go part in parcel with President Trump’s travel ban.

In the two memos up for review by the White House Counsel, Kelly proposes hiring 10,000 more Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers as well as 5,000 more Customs and Border Patrol agents.

Kelly also wants ICE officials to be able to detain anyone they suspect is violating immigration law.

Additionally, any department resources previously set aside to help illegal immigrants will go to a new office to assist victims of crimes committed by “removable aliens.”

The secretary would like to see the end of “catch and release” programs at the U.S. border and see all illegal aliens detained and immediately deported, according to one of the memos.

Kelly wants to expand the pool of immigrants prioritized for deportation — from immigrants that have been in the U.S. for less than two weeks to include those in the country for up to two years, speed up deportation hearings and enlist local law enforcement to help.

The amount of American money being sent to Mexico would also be under scrutiny. “The President has directed the heads of all executive departments to identify and quantify all sources of direct and indirect Federal aid or assistance to the Government of Mexico,” one of the memos states.