The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday began aggressively following through on President Trump’s promise to crack down on illegal immigrants. It will surely bring outrage from the left and the anti-Trump media.
Two DHS memos summed up the new guidelines. It includes an attempt to deport almost all illegal immigrants apprehended in the U.S., as well as the hiring of thousands more border patrol and immigration agents. Trump has already promised to submit a detailed plan for a southern border wall in the near future.
The announcement came three weeks after the president ordered an immigration crackdown on January 25th. It is different from his January 27th ban on the entry of foreign travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations. For the time being, that has been halted by a federal appeals court. Trump has promised a revised version of that as soon as this week.
The memos were sent early Tuesday to heads of key agencies and signed by DHS Secretary John Kelly. He said that it “implements new policies designed to stem illegal immigration and facilitate the detection, apprehension, detention, and removal of aliens who have no lawful basis to enter or remain in the United States.” Few details besides that were provided. [Implementation PDF] [Enforcement PDF]
It can be ascertained that Trump’s plan will be aggressive in nature. That will include existing laws already on the books pertaining to illegal and undocumented aliens living in the U.S. The operative words are “expedited removal.” That means procedures that deny court proceedings to those here illegally, while those announcing their legality must prove they have been living in the country for two years or more.
It is an unprecedented move by a president who promised voters he would work quickly to address the illegal immigrant issue. It should be noted that the plan leaves protections in place for immigrants who entered the country illegally as children, defined as “dreamers” during the Obama administration.
Tuesday’s announcement will undoubtedly lead to major disagreement with many Democratic lawmakers, especially those representing blue and southern Border States. Nevertheless, Trump ran for president promising action on the illegal question. He contends they are competing with lawful U.S. residents for jobs and contributing to rising crime in some cities.
