Trump plans to ramp up deportations
President Trump campaigned on the promise of deporting more undocumented immigrants, and on Wednesday he laid out a broad, ambitious plan to do just that.
During a speech at the Department of Homeland Security, Trump said he would remove all the obstacles the agency faced in the past to target undocumented immigrants crossing the border and living in the the United States.
"For too long, your officers and agents haven't been allowed to properly do their jobs," Trump said. "That's all about to change. From here on out, I'm asking all of you to enforce the laws of the United States. They will be enforced and enforced strongly."
Trump outlined his vision in two executive orders he signed during a tour of Homeland Security headquarters. The orders call for the government to hire an additional 5,000 Border Patrol officers, 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, asylum officers and immigration judges.
The orders also call for the construction of detention facilities along the southern border to hold undocumented immigrants caught entering the country, and he made clear that no undocumented immigrant will be exempt from possible deportation.
Immigration advocacy groups expressed outrage, calling Trump's plans racist, xenophobic, devastating, extremist and extremely disappointing.
"This is race-based terrorism," said Greisa Martinez, advocacy director for the United We Dream Network, a coalition of young undocumented immigrants.
The groups have vowed to fight Trump's plans in court. But for now, the president has laid out a wide-ranging plan that touches on almost every aspect of the lives of undocumented immigrants.
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One of the biggest changes is who the administration deems a target for deportation.
Trump and White House press secretary Sean Spicer have said in recent days that the administration will figure out a "humane" solution for the 750,000 young, undocumented immigrants granted deportation protections under President Obama. On Wednesday, Spicer drove home that point.
"The president understands the magnitude of this problem," Spicer said. "He’s a family man, he has a huge heart, and he understands the significance of this problem."
Yet in one of the orders Trump signed, he made clear that all of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants could face deportation.
"We cannot faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States if we exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," the order said. "The purpose of this order is to direct executive departments and agencies to employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws of the United States."
Trump has repeatedly said he would focus deportation efforts on undocumented immigrants who pose a threat to the United States or have committed crimes since arriving. The Obama administration also focused on undocumented immigrants who posed a threat to national security, were members of gangs had been convicted of felonies or multiple misdemeanors.
Trump's orders seemed to expand that pool of immigrants to include those who "have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense."
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Trump's also ended the practice of "catch and release," where undocumented immigrants caught entering the U.S. are released from custody while they await hearings before immigration judges. Immigration advocacy groups argue that releasing these people is critical, since many crossing the border are women and children from Central America. The groups also say the backlog in immigration courts means people could wait years in detention before getting a hearing.
Under Trump's plan, the federal government will build more detention facilities and hire more immigration judges. As undocumented immigrants wait for their day in court, Homeland Security is ordered to "ensure the detention of aliens ... pending the outcome of their removal proceedings or their removal from the country."
Trump also wants to bring back "expedited screening" procedures that fast-track hearings for people claiming asylum or refugee status.
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Trump added a public relations component to the effort, by ordering Homeland Security to publish a report on all crimes committed by undocumented immigrants that each week.
Local police officers will also be a big part of Trump's deportation plans.
Under an existing federal program, ICE can train and deputize police and sheriff's deputies to identify undocumented immigrants and initiate deportation proceedings. The program was largely phased out by the Obama administration, with only 34 agencies around the country using it in their jails.
Trump's order calls for a rapid expansion of that program to include deputized officers patrolling the streets. Immigration advocacy groups have strongly objected to that program, arguing it undermines public safety because it makes all immigrants fearful of contacting police, even to report a crime.
"It is the policy of the executive branch to empower State and Local law enforcement agencies across the country to perform the functions of an immigration officer in the interior of the United States to the maximum extent permitted by law," one of Trump's order read.