It's open season on illegal immigrants: Trump declares that ANYONE in the US illegally can be deported, regardless of whether they've committed a crime
- Two memos for ICE and border patrol greatly increase their scope and powers
- All illegal immigrants are now targets for deportation, the memos say
- ICE will be told to target immigrants who have been charged but NOT convicted
- Obama told them to focus on criminal immigrants and recent arrivals to the US
- Immigrants will not be protected under US privacy laws, the memos also say
- Border officers will be able to detain migrants until deportation decision is made
- Memos are based on Trump exec orders and are being reviewed by White House
- Obama's DACA, which protects children brought to US illegally, is still in place
Donald Trump may put all of the USA's illegal immigrants in ICE's crosshairs with two new orders that could allow for anyone to be deported, regardless of whether they have committed a crime in the US.
Drafts of two memos seen by Reuters vastly widen the scope of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
One in particular gives them greater discretion over who gets to be deported - and says that anyone in the United States illegally is subject to deportation.
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New memos, being reviewed by the White House, will tell ICE and border agents that all illegal immigrants can be deported, and to focus less on criminal immigrants and new arrivals
The memos are based on Trump's exec orders and say focus is now on those who have been charged with, but not convicted of, crimes. Immigrants will no longer be included under US privacy laws either
The memos are guidance to instruct agents in the field to implement two executive orders signed by Trump on January 25 that were intended to deter future migration and drive out more illegal migrants from the United States.
The first memo, which says all illegals are subject to deportation, is concerned with internal immigration control.
It orders ICE agents to disregard President Obama's order to focus on criminal immigrants and recent arrivals.
Instead, the order says, they should switch their focus and prioritize migrants who have been charged with crimes but not yet convicted.
It also broadens the scope of ICE powers to determine who should be deported, and says immigrants will not be afforded rights under US privacy laws.
The second memo instructs Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to crack down on illegal migration at the border by holding migrants in detention until a determination in their case is made.
The memos have been approved by secretary of homeland security John Kelly and now face final review in the White House.
They are expected to be released to ICE and CBP early next week.
A source familiar with the guidance said the memos were scheduled to be distributed on Friday but the White House made a last-minute request to review them. It is not known whether the White House may alter the guidance.
The memos leave in place Obama's DACA protections for children brought into the country illegally. However, at least one DACA recipient has been arrested in the past few weeks
The guidance does leave in place Obama's 2012 executive action that protected 750,000 people brought to the United States illegally by their parents - referred to by Obama's administration as 'dreamers'.
The fate of the policy, known as DACA, has been hotly debated within the White House, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Trump said in a news conference Friday that DACA was a 'very difficult subject' for him.
One DACA recipient has so far been arrested: Daniel Ramirez, who was detained in Seattle in a raid on his father's house on February 10.
The DoJ says Ramirez has gang affiliations. His lawyers say that is nonsense and he was pressured by agents to falsely admit to being in a gang.
Kelly said in one of the memos that illegal immigration across the US border with Mexico had 'created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States.'
The Department of Homeland Security did not deny any information contained in the draft memos but did not provide further detail.
The memos were first reported on by McClatchy news organization on Saturday.
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