The Trump-Biden contest in 35 days is a juncture for US immigration policy, pitting drastically different visions on green card policy, asylum, refugees, ICE detention and deportations and border restrictions against each other. 1/
Former and current senior DHS officials said a Biden admin. could face an arduous and long road in reversing Pres. Trump's immigration changes.
"It's not like someone shows up on day one and can stop doing regulation A, B or C," DHS No. 2 Ken Cuccinelli told @CBSNews. 2/
If victorious, Biden will be under pressure to not just to undo Trump’s changes, but to also move away from some Obama-era policies, particularly on deportation and detention.
"I always say that Trump is abusing the ICE deportation machine that Obama built” one activist said. 3/
If he secures reelection, Pres. Trump could see through major immigration policy changes stalled by federal courts, such as the end of DACA.
Lora Ries, a former DHS official, said a second-term Trump presidency should also move to end birthright citizenship. 4/
The courts will be key, officials said. In an interview, Cuccinelli accused "left-wing" judges of waging "war" against Trump's immigration agenda.
But Trump has installed 200 + judges—and could appoint a 3rd Supreme Court justice. That's an enduring legacy—even if Biden wins. 5/
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The 59,000 level tops the previous peak in 2019, when the first Trump administration held as many as 55,000 immigrants in ICE detention.
Historical data gathered by the Marshall Project suggests the 59,000 figure is the highest in the history of U.S. immigration detention
The federal statistics show nearly half — or 47% — of those currently detained by ICE lack a criminal record and fewer than 30% have been convicted of crimes, a sign of the widening scope of President Trump's escalating crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Trump administration will be revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants welcomed into the U.S. under a Biden-era sponsorship process, urging them to self-deport or face arrest and removal by deportation agents.
Exclusive: CBS News has obtained an internal U.S. government list of the Venezuelan men the Trump administration deported to El Salvador as part of a secretive operation that has triggered a legal standoff and global debate.
- 137 of the 238 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador were deported under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
- The other 101 were deported under immigration law.
- The Trump admin. says they’re all linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, an accusation relatives dispute.
We also know that the U.S. government has said in a court declaration that while some of those expelled to El Salvador have criminal records, "many" do not.
Beyond that, the U.S. government has provided very few details to the public and the judge overseeing this case.
BREAKING: Federal judge James Boasberg says during a hearing that he will issue an order blocking the Trump administration from deporting “all noncitizens in U.S. custody who are subject” to President Trump’s Alien Enemies Act proclamation.
Remarkably, Boasberg appeared to say that any deportation flights in the air with migrants subject to this order on board should be returned to the U.S.
Lee Gelernt, the ACLU lawyer leading this lawsuit tells me, “We are the thrilled the judge recognized the severe harm our plaintiffs would face if removed. The President’s use of the Alien Enemies Act is flat out lawless.”
EXCLUSIVE — CBS News has obtained internal Trump administration plans to revive Title 42 and expel migrants on public health grounds.
The first Trump administration cited COVID. Now it’s made plans to label migrants vectors of diseases like tuberculosis. cbsnews.com/news/trump-tit…
The internal documents obtained by CBS News show the Trump administration has prepared plans to invoke Title 42 to empower officials to swiftly expel migrants without any of the processing outlined in federal immigration law, which says those on U.S. soil can request asylum.
The documents indicate the CDC is planning to issue an order that would label unauthorized migrants trying to enter the U.S. as public health risks, citing concerns that they could spread diseases like tuberculosis.
Border officials would be tasked with enforcing the order.
EXCLUSIVE — U.S. border agents have been directed to summarily deport migrants crossing into the country illegally, without allowing them to request asylum, in accordance with President Trump's orders, according to internal documents and officials. cbsnews.com/news/trump-dep…
Just hours after being sworn in, Mr. Trump invoked sweeping presidential authorities to bar the entry of migrants deemed to be participating in an "invasion" of the U.S., as well as those who may pose a public health or national security risk.
He cited a law known as 212(f) that allows presidents to suspend the entry of foreigners whose entry is deemed to be "detrimental" to the U.S.
Internal documents indicate that, as of Tuesday, the president's "full" 212(f) authority was being implemented across the Texas border.