According to a draft of an internal memo from the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Trump Administration is taking significant steps toward expanding
its capacity to detain and deport immigrants present in the U.S. without
legal status. The administration is seeking funding for increased detention
capacity by about 30,000 additional beds for detained immigrants. Additionally,
the memo advises Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to detain
all unauthorized immigrants and allow release of these individuals pending
deportation proceedings only in very limited circumstances. These are
the measures that the Trump administration believes are necessary in order
to carry out its agenda of greater enforcement of American immigration
laws. DHS declined to comment on the draft of the memo. At this point,
ICE has not reached capacity at the existing detention centers, despite
stepped up enforcement efforts, mostly because border arrests have dropped
dramatically since the first of the year. Nonetheless, ICE has increased
bed availability by about 1,000 beds and has another 1,000 beds on stand-by
to be available, as well. The memo states that pending funding, ICE could
procure another 21,000 beds from various sources, as well as 12,500 temporary
beds designed to respond to any sudden surges in border migration. To
that end, DHS is seeking the cooperation of Mexico in holding immigrants
detained at the border and establishing courts proceedings to occur at
ports and via video conferencing for these individuals. Finally, DHS has
recruited a number of local law enforcement agencies to essentially be
deputized as ICE agents for the purposes of carrying out immigration-related
enforcement duties. Although the administration has sought up to $20 million
in federal funding in order to build a prototype and begin to create its
promise of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, its focus in this
respect has turned to 48 miles of “high-priority” new border
in the Rio Grande Valley and San Diego. Furthermore, DHS has begun to
examine strategies to not only make up the current shortfall in the availability
of ICE agents, but to fill the additional 5,000 positions that Trump maintains
is necessary to more strictly enforce immigration laws. Individuals who
are detained and facing deportation need a knowledgeable California immigration
attorney who can help them through this difficult and complicated process. At
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., we know how to stand up for the rights of those who are legally entitled
to remain in the U.S.
Call us today
at (510) 756-4468 to schedule an appointment with one of our deportation
defense lawyers, and learn how we can assist you.
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