Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Immigration hiring defended
Homeland security secretary says U.S. is focused on criminals
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly discusses plans to hire thousands of additional immigration and bordercontrol agents.
The homeland security secretary on Sunday defended plans to hire thousands of additional immigration and border-control agents, saying the Trump administration’s lower bar on criminal behavior by undocumented immigrants merits a larger force.
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” DHS chief John Kelly dismissed the idea that he’s creating a “deportation force” and noted that U.S. law says people here illegally should leave or be deported.
The Trump administration is focused on criminals, mainly with multiple convictions, he said, but the emphasis can be on lesser types of offenses than was the case under President Barack Obama.
The DHS wants to hire 10,000 additional immigration and customs-enforcement officials and 5,000 more border-security agents.
It also plans to expand the number of detention beds to house undocumented immigrants, according to internal documents obtained last week by The Washington Post.
“The definition of criminal has not changed, but where on the spectrum of criminality we operate has changed,” Kelly said on his first appearance on a Sunday talk show since taking over the agency in January, according to a transcript provided by the network.
Asked to provide an example, Kelly cited “multiple” offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol but added that it’s possible a single incident could trigger removal. “Even a single DUI, depending on other aspects, would get you into the system,” he said.
Kelly’s comments come as Congress prepares to resume debate on the administration’s policies on immigration enforcement and plans to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Lawmakers this month will consider a broad spending bill funding agencies for the remainder of this fiscal year that could include border-security funds. If Congress doesn’t act, a partial government shutdown would begin on April 29.
Congress will then turn to next fiscal year’s budget request from the Trump administration, which proposes deep cuts to programs for education and the environment, among others, in part to offset the expense of more immigration enforcement and border-control measures.