The Trump administration has empowered law enforcement officials across the Department of Justice (DOJ) and immigration authorities.
A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directive gives members across the federal government many of the same powers as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, according to a memo obtained by CBS News. . The directive applies to personnel working within the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (Related: Top Democrat admits courts will end up denying most immigrants’ asylum claims)
According to the memo, these law enforcement officers, along with “other authorized Justice Department employees,” are authorized to search and arrest aliens who are in the United States illegally. The administration also noted that FBI agents already have the authority to arrest people entering the country.
The DHS directive is just one of many steps the Trump administration took to ramp up immigration enforcement shortly after taking office.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 08: Center Field Office Director Thomas Giles speaks with raiders after a raid to apprehend illegal immigrants with criminal records in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, September 8, 2022. talk. (Irrfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, giving him greater powers to address the illegal immigration crisis that began under the previous administration. Later, the Pentagon confirmed it would utilize aircraft to deport approximately 5,000 illegal immigrants, and the military would deploy troops to the southern border to help Customs and Border Protection stem the flow of illegal immigrants. We are dispatching.
The administration also quickly introduced reforms within ICE to reduce obstacles for deportation officers to take enforcement actions.
DHS on Tuesday issued a directive expanding expedited expulsion, a policy that allows immigration authorities to quickly deport illegal immigrants by bypassing immigration court proceedings, from 160 miles within the border to anywhere in the United States. Announced. , ICE agents will no longer be prohibited from operating in so-called sensitive locations, such as churches and schools, where agents previously were not allowed to arrest immigrants.
The DHS memo notes that the Department of Justice, known as the Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group, is tasked with identifying state and local laws and policies that are “inconsistent” with federal immigration efforts and challenging them when necessary. This was in response to the establishment of a special committee within Japan. law in court.
A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation about the memo.
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