US Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly officially issued two memoranda Feb. 20 directing the department's workforce to implement two executive orders on the enforcement of immigration laws. The first memorandum (PDF) implements President Donald Trump's "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvement Policies" executive order. Kelly directed US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to hire 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents. This memo orders the immediate identification and allocation of sources of available funding for the construction of a wall along the Mexican border. A standardized method will also be developed for public reporting of data regarding aliens apprehended near the border for violations of immigration law.
The second memorandum (PDF) implements the "Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the US" executive order. Kelly directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hire 10,000 officers and agents "expeditiously," and establish a Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office. All funds previously used to advocate on behalf of "illegal aliens" are now directed to the VOICE office, and the department must immediately terminate outreach or advocacy services to "illegal aliens." The ICE director is also directed to provide a weekly report to the public of aliens that have been released from custody, listing their name, immigration status, and the arrest, charge or conviction for which the alien was in custody.
From Jurist, Feb. 22. Used with permssion.
Note: The two executive orders implemented by these DHS memoranda were signed last month by Trump, five days after his inauguration. John Kelly, former chief of the Pentagon's Southern Command, is one of several military men appointed to the Trump administration.
