DHS Lays Groundwork for Deportation Force
April 12th, 2017Via: U.S. News and World Report:
The Trump administration is seeking ways to increase capacity within immigration enforcement agencies to create a deportation force President Donald Trump repeatedly advocated on the campaign trail.
According to a document obtained by The Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security has begun the process of ramping up its abilities to rapidly deport thousands of people who are in the country illegally.
The report, dated April 25, is a progress report on the president’s executive orders to restrict who is allowed to travel to the U.S. While a federal judge has blocked parts of both executive orders relating to a ban on travel of people from several Muslim-majority countries, other portions of the orders instructing officials to strengthen vetting procedures were allowed to go forward.
According to the report, Homeland Security has located 33,000 additional beds for immigrants being held for deportation, begun to reach out to local police that could be empowered to enforce immigration laws and mapped the construction plans for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The agency is also looking at ways to expedite the hiring of 5,000 of new officers as part of a major expansion of Customs and Border Patrol. The altered hiring procedure might eliminate a polygraph test, a physical fitness examination and Spanish language proficiency from the entrance exam.
