White House press secretary Jen Psaki was confronted by reporters on Monday about a pending orientation that would save some illegal immigrants convicted of less serious deportation crimes, as the Biden government sets the framework for its immigration strategy.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expected to issue new guidelines stipulating that undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of driving under influence, solicitation, simple assault and drug-based crimes can no longer be deported, as reported by The Washington Post.
Psaki noted that prioritizing who is subject to deportation is ultimately a matter for the Department of Homeland Security, which will determine who poses the greatest threat to national security.
“The priority for the enforcement of immigration laws will be over those who pose a threat to national security … and over newcomers,” said Psaki during a news conference. “Nobody is saying that DUIs or aggression are acceptable behaviors, and those arrested for such activities should be tried and convicted as appropriate by local authorities. But we are talking about prioritizing who will be deported from the country.”
BIDEN PREPARES RULES TO LIMIT ICE STOPS, DEPORTATIONS
The guidance is reportedly an effort to focus more resources on issues of national security, sex offenders and gang members, among other high-risk individuals. It is not final.
“They abolished ICE without abolishing ICE,” said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Washington Post. “The swing of the pendulum is so extreme. It literally seems that we have gone from being able to fully enforce our immigration laws to now being instructed not to enforce anything.”
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As previously reported by Fox News, Biden tried to implement a 100-day moratorium on evictions early in his presidency – which was blocked by a federal judge in Texas.
Meanwhile, some progressive Democrats have renewed their calls to abolish the ICE altogether.