WASHINGTON: Many more people living in the United States illegally could face rapid deportation, including people simply arrested for traffic violations, under the Trump administration’s sweeping rewrite of immigration enforcement policies announced Tuesday.
Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, will now be an enforcement priority, according to Homeland Security Department memos signed by Secretary John Kelly. That could include people arrested for shoplifting or minor offenses.
The memos replace the Obama administration’s more narrow guidance focusing on immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes, are considered threats to national security or are recent border crossers.
