More immigrants targeted for deportation
DHS memos also seek to publicize crimes committed by those living in U.S. illegally
WASHINGTON — Millions of people living in the United States illegally could be targeted for deportation — including people simply arrested for traffic violations — under a sweeping rewrite of immigration enforcement policies announced Tuesday by the Trump administration.
Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, will now be an enforcement priority, according to Homeland Security Department memos signed by Secretary John Kelly. That could include people arrested for shoplifting or minor offenses — or simply having crossed the border illegally.
Shortly after the memos were released, the Trump administration sought to allay a “sense of panic” among immigrant communities over the new directives, insisting that the measures are not intended to produce “mass deportations.”
Mr. Kelly’s memos also seek to publicize crimes by undocumented immigrants; strip such immigrants of privacy protections; begin the process of hiring 10,000 immigration and customs agents; enlist local police officers as enforcers; erect new detention facilities; discourage asylum seekers; and, speed up deportations.
Federal officials cautioned that many of the changes will take time to implement because of costs and logistical challenges, and that Border Patrol agents and immigration officers will use their expanded powers with care and discretion.
DHS officials emphasized that the guidelines in Mr. Kelly’s memos conform to federal immigration laws established by Congress.
The Trump administration memos replace more narrow guidance focusing on immigrants. Under the Obama administration guidance, immigrants whose only violation was being in the country illegally were generally left alone. Those immigrants fall into two categories: those who crossed the border without permission and those who overstayed their visas.
Crossing the border illegally is a criminal offense, and the memos make clear that those who have done so are included in the list of enforcement priorities. Overstaying a visa is a civil offense, but those who do so are more likely to face deportation than before.
The new enforcement documents are the latest efforts by President Donald Trump to follow through on campaign promises, and they are also responding to a rise in illegal border crossings.
The White House has asserted that immigrationenforcement agents had their hands tied in the last administration.
The new enforcement policies warn that such unauthorized immigrants “routinely victimize Americans,” even though research shows lower levels of crime among immigrants than among nativeborn Americans.
Mr. Kelly’s enforcement plans call for enforcing an obscure provision of immigration law that allows the government to send some people caught illegally crossing the Mexican border back to Mexico, regardless of where they are from.
The directives do not affect former President Barack Obama’s program that has protected more than 750,000 young immigrants from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals remains in place, though participants could be deported if they commit crimes or otherwise are deemed to be threats to public safety or national security.
White House lawyers took a few extra days to review the directives after Mr. Kelly signed them Friday in an effort to hold off court challenges.
The orders were largely endorsed by Jeff Sessions months before he took office as attorney general.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it would challenge the directives.