Contrary to what was reported by the Daily Wire, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not adopted any policy aimed at shielding immigrants without criminal records from arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to DHS, immigration enforcement operations will continue as planned.
In a post on X Saturday night, the Department of Homeland Security responded directly to the reports, writing: “This is false. No one is off the table. We will continue to arrest any and all illegal aliens that come into our path.”
Citing sources within DHS, The Daily Wire had reported that ICE officers had been instructed to avoid arresting undocumented immigrants who do not have criminal records.
The publication also reported that people with final orders of removal but no criminal convictions or pending charges would not be arrested, according to The Mirror US. The reported policy would also have ended so-called “collateral arrests,” in which ICE officers pursuing a specific criminal target may encounter other undocumented immigrants and detain them as well. Under the reported change, officers would have detained only the original target, The Mirror US explained.
DHS, however, quickly and strongly denied adopting such a policy.
“Anyone in our country illegally will be arrested and deported. In an effort to protect American citizens, ICE has initiated a nationwide public safety surge in sanctuary cities where our brave officers will be targeting criminal illegal aliens—many released from jails by sanctuary politicians—including murderers, rapists, child predators, and gang members,” DHS said.
This is not the first time reports have circulated suggesting that the Department of Homeland Security was changing its approach to the arrest of undocumented immigrants who have not committed crimes in the United States.
Several months ago, Newsweek published an article reporting that DHS had decided to pause arrests involving certain categories of immigrants it did not consider a threat to American society. DHS later denied adopting such a policy.
Several U.S. media outlets, including The New York Times, have also reported that the Trump administration was considering softening aspects of its mass-deportation policy amid concerns about losing support among Latino voters.
Since Markwayne Mullin took over DHS, he has sought to make ICE arrests less dramatic, but that has not prevented thousands of undocumented immigrants without criminal records from being arrested. Deportation flights have also increased significantly compared with the period under his predecessor, Kristi Noem, despite the greater media attention surrounding immigration enforcement during her tenure.
For Haitian immigrants, the increase in deportations has translated into nearly one removal flight each week to Haiti, a country struggling with political and economic crises and where armed groups control more than 80 percent of Port-au-Prince as well as areas in several other departments.
Meanwhile, more than 350,000 Haitians are currently living in the United States without legal status following the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. Since then, thousands of Haitians who had previously been protected under TPS have lost their immigration status and now face the risk of deportation.
Credit: PBS
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