DHS Announces New Rules To Cut Back On Deportations

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ordered authorities to prioritize deporting illegal immigrants who “pose a threat to national security, public safety, and border security” because the government does not have enough resources to handle the record-breaking illegal immigration that has occurred under President Biden’s administration.

“The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen, therefore, should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a memo. “We will use our discretion and focus our enforcement resources in a more targeted way. Justice and our country’s well-being require it.”

The memo further outlines “mitigating factors” that would prevent the deportation of an illegal immigrant who had committed a crime. Among the factors listed are: “advanced or tender age; lengthy presence in the United States; a mental condition that may have contributed to the criminal conduct, or a physical or mental condition requiring care or treatment.”

The New York Post reported, “The guidance, which is due to take effect Nov. 29, replaces interim rules issued in February that were initially blocked by a federal judge in August as part of a lawsuit brought by Texas and Louisiana. The judge ruled that the administration did not have discretion to choose which migrants to detain, but a federal appeals court allowed the guidelines to take effect while the lawsuit proceeds.”

The February rules are suspected to be a large factor in the surge in illegal immigration seen this year as migrants knew that their likelihood of being able to remain in the United States was much greater. The February Memorandum led to record low deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while there was simultaneously record high illegal immigration.

The Washington Post reported in May, “Under new Biden administration rules curtailing immigration enforcement, ICE carried out fewer than 3,000 deportations last month, the lowest level on record. The agency’s 6,000 officers currently average one arrest every two months.”

“ICE under President Biden is an agency on probation,” the Washington Post continued. “The new administration has rejected calls from some Democrats to eliminate the agency entirely, but Biden has placed ICE deportation officers on a leash so tight that some say their work is being functionally abolished.”