Trump to Revive ICE Workplace Raids
President Trump will soon “ramp up” workplace immigration status checks, according to incoming border czar Tom Homan (NBC News).
What’s going on: The incoming administration intends to increase U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids of workplaces shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Homan told NBC News late last week.
- “We’re going to do it in a smart way,” Homan said. “We’re still working on how exactly we want to roll this out, but [worksite] operations have to come back again because it’s the No. 1 place we find victims of forced labor being run by many cartels.”
Funds needed: ICE has a $230 million budget shortfall, which the Trump administration plans to address by requesting more funding from Congress.
Other ideas: The new administration is considering additional actions, Homan said, including:
- Tripling the number of beds in detention facilities, from 34,000 to at least 100,000;
- Creating a hotline people can call to report undocumented immigrants they believe have committed crimes;
- Holding weekly press conferences with updates on deportations; and
- Potentially expanding ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows the agency to partner with local law enforcement.
Title 42: Whether the administration will reinstate Title 42—the COVID-19-era immigration restriction measure that made deportations on public health grounds easier—remains to be seen, according to Homan.
- “I don’t know whether [Trump] has made a decision, and I would not get ahead of him,” Homan told NBC News. “But I think there could be a case made for it.”
National security: Stricter immigration policies will act as a deterrent to those considering coming to the U.S. illegally, Homan continued.
- “I think the American people have spoken,” he said. “This is the No. 1 issue. They went to the voting booth. I think Congress is paying attention. They’ll give us the money to do this job. It’s not so much about illegal immigration. It’s about national security.”
Our take: “Manufacturers support a comprehensive approach to our country’s immigration challenges, both to ensure that they have the workforce they need to support economic growth and to enforce our laws and secure our border,” said NAM Senior Director of Technology Policy Franck Journoud.
- “Securing the border is a crucial step toward ensuring that America’s immigration laws support safe and prosperous communities across the country.”