INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Donald Trump&s administration has directed United States prosecutors to criminally probe local officials who resist immigration
enforcement efforts, intensifying a sweeping crackdown that Trump launched the day he took office.In a memo seen by Reuters, Trump&s acting
deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, told Justice Department staff that state and local authorities must cooperate with the immigration
crackdown and federal prosecutors &shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.The Justice
Department could also challenge laws that complicate the effort, Bove wrote.The policy was issued as the new Republican administration
prepared to step up policing of illegal immigration in cities with significant migrant populations, setting up potential confrontations with
local officials in so-called sanctuary cities such as New York and Chicago that limit cooperation with such efforts.The new memo underscored
how Trump&s Justice Department may try to back his immigration agenda by expanding threats of criminal charges beyond immigrants or those
who employ them to city and state officials
It is the latest in a series of executive actions Trump has taken to curb illegal immigration, his top priority.During Trump&s first
2017-2021 term in office, many Democratic officials refused to cooperate with his enforcement efforts, and some vowed to defy him again.We
know that we don''t have to participate in immigration enforcement activities,& Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on
CNN.But resistance in the party is not monolithic this time
In the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday 46 Democrats — one-fifth of their number — joined 217 Republicans to pass
legislation that would require immigrants who are in the country illegally to be held for deportation if they are accused of theft
The bill was named for Laken Riley, a Georgia woman who was killed by an illegal immigrant who had a prior record of shoplifting.It has
already passed the Senate with Democratic support and now heads to Trump&s desk to be signed into law.The American people want us to do
something about the border and I think we&d be hard-pressed to not say that we have to deport criminals,& Representative Tom Suozzi, a
moderate Democrat who voted for the bill, told Reuters.TROOPS TO BORDERTrump has issued a broad ban on asylum and taken steps to restrict
citizenship for children born on American soil
A United States official said on Wednesday the military would dispatch 1,000 additional active-duty troops to the Mexico-United States
The administration has rescinded guidance from his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden that had limited immigration arrests near schools,
churches and other sensitive places
Trump has also expanded immigration officers& power to deport migrants who cannot prove they have been in the United States for longer than
two years.Trump has separately taken aim at federal diversity programs, ordering agencies to put officials overseeing diversity, equity and
inclusion programs on leave by Wednesday and to shut down DEI offices by the end of the month.The swift actions signal Trump&s intention to
fulfill many of his culture-war campaign promises by pushing the limits of executive power even further than he did during his first
term.Americans are sharply divided on Trump&s plans for mass deportations
A new Reuters/Ipsos survey showed 39% agreed that &illegal immigrants should be arrested and put in detention camps while awaiting
deportation hearings,& while 42% disagreed and the rest were unsure.Some 46% of respondents said they approved of how Trump was handling
immigration policy, while 39% disapproved
Most respondents who backed mass arrests identified as Republicans, while most who did not were Democrats.The poll, which surveyed adults
20-21, found 58% of respondents agreed that the United States should &dramatically reduce the number of migrants allowed to claim asylum at
the border,& while 22% disagreed.TARGETING SANCTUARY CITIESState and local officials who resist or obstruct immigration enforcement could be
charged under federal laws against defrauding the United States or harboring immigrants who are in the United States unlawfully, according
to the Justice Department memo.Prosecutors who opt not to file criminal charges will need to explain their reasoning to superiors, the memo
said.The department this week also reassigned close to 20 career officials, transferring some to a new unit aimed at stopping sanctuary
cities from resisting Trump&s immigration plans, two sources said.Of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the United States illegally or
with temporary status in 2022, about 44% lived in states with &sanctuary& laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities
That figure does not include those in sanctuary cities and counties in places without a statewide law, such as New Mexico.In Mexico,
authorities have begun constructing giant tent shelters in the city of Ciudad Juarez to prepare for a possible influx of deported
Mexicans.The post Trump steps up immigration crackdown, warns city, state officials against interference first appeared on Ariana News.
