A July 7 article by ProPublica’s Marcelo Rochabrún shared the news of an internal memo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that confirmed what many have been saying for months now: that ICE is targeting the removal of anyone who is undocumented in this country.
According to Rochabrun’s story, the memo by Matthew Albence, who is in charge of ICE’S Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), clearly states the policy marching orders: “Effective immediately, ERO officers will take enforcement action against all removable aliens encountered in the course of their duties.” The ProPublica story also noted that ICE is saying officially that this is all in line with what the Trump administration has been saying—that the emphasis is on threats to public safety (“felons not families,” anyone?). You can read the entire ProPublica story here.
This is the memo which ProPublica made public online:
Reaction to the memo is already beginning:
Statement from NYC Immigration Chief @nishasagarwal on newly released docs detailing ICE directive of mass deportation @ProPublica pic.twitter.com/EWh7hZSl2E
— Rosemary Boeglin (@RosemaryBoeglin) July 7, 2017
A very important story from @mrochabrun on ICE's secret memo ignoring all immigration priorities in Trump EO https://t.co/S3ENnucdKM pic.twitter.com/pTD6osLsLr
— David Bier (@David_J_Bier) July 7, 2017
Looks like we are back to the time when ERO removals under the Obama administration were at their peak:
The question is simple: will the Trump administration surpass what the Obama administration in ERO removals or is ICE just being more public in implementing policy that was part of Obama policy before 2014?