Homeland Security Issues New Rules When Arresting Migrants

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security issued new directives when arresting migrants. The new rules emphasized that a migrant’s undocumented status should not serve as the basis to detain and deport them. The new rules take effect on November 29. 

RELATED: Obama Contradicts Biden: Open Borders Are Unsustainable

Homeland Security’s Priorities Remain The Same

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that their priorities remain. The current administration will continue prioritizing the arrest and deportation of immigrants who remain a threat to national security or public safety. The agency will also do the same to those who cross the US border using illegal means. 

However, Mayorkas wanted a different approach. He said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers shouldn’t attempt arresting and deporting farmworkers and the elderly. In addition, the same rules apply to others who were vulnerable to deportation under the Trump administration.

In addition, Mayorkas said that under the new rules, agents cannot arrest anyone using illegal means. Also, agents should pass up on arresting immigrants that speak out against unfair landlords or employers. 

Noncitizen Threats To Public Safety

In a memo sent to agency heads, the Homeland Security head posed a question to border and immigration. “The overriding question is whether the noncitizen poses a current threat to public safety,” he said. “Are we going to spend the time apprehending and removing the farmworker who is breaking his or her back to pick fruit that we all put on our tables?”

Mayorkas said in the interview. “Because if we pursue that individual, we will not be spending those same resources on somebody who does, in fact, threaten our safety. And that is what this is about.”

Despite the new rules, Mayorkas also gave ICE agents more leeway in deciding whether to deport someone. The agency’s interim guidance on Feb. 18 required supervisors to sign off on some deportation cases before agents can do so.

Mayorkas said while he will continue to monitor compliance, he will not micromanage agents. “I do trust the ICE workforce, and I do trust ICE leadership, and I do have confidence in my own leadership and the efforts that I have made engaging with the ICE workforce and discussing with them these very issues,” he said.

Biden Suffering From Low Approvals On Migrant Crisis

President Joe Biden is currently getting low approvals for the way he handled the migration issues hounding the US southern border. Earlier in his presidency, he pledged to fight for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants this year.

However, Republicans have pointed out his inability to handle an increasing influx of migrants emboldened by his declarations. The Senate parliamentarian rejected a Democrat attempt to include a measure expanding border and migrant services into the infrastructure bill. 

Meanwhile, leftist elements of the Democratic Party called for the removal of ICE. They said that the agency remains difficult to deal with. State and local officials say that they’re having trouble working with ICE agents.

The agents tend to arrest people who do not pose a threat at the moment. As a result, they limit coordination of their local jails and police with the agency. 

Watch the CBS Evening News video reporting that the Department of Homeland Security changes Trump-era immigration policy:

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Do you agree with the new policies set by the Department of Homeland Security? Will adopting a more humane way of addressing illegal migrants solve the border crisis?

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