President Donald Trump repealed key memos imposed by the former Department of Homeland Security ( DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday as he stated “all illegal entry will immediately cease…we will begin the process of returning millions of criminal aliens to their countries of origin. ”
Mayorkas ’ memos had significantly limited Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) agents in protecting the United States borders. The Department of Homeland Security ( DHS) announced on Monday that it has issued new memos to repeal restrictions placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) agents by former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Also, the letters call for a overview of the use of humanitarian pardon to say workers into the United States.
The first letter overturns a scheme established in 2021 under Mayorkas, which expanded the record of “protected places ” where Snow was prohibited from carrying out immigration enforcement actions. The original legislation aimed to ensure protection behavior did not interfere with individuals ’ access to essential solutions or involvement in critical actions. These designated areas included schools, institutions, medical facilities, places of worship, places where children gather, social service companies, food banks, spiritual or civil ceremonies, and areas involved in disaster relief efforts.
At the time, Mayorkas said of the note that behavior on people and society as a whole may be considered. “ In our pursuit of justice, including the murder of police duties, we influence people’s life and the nation’s well-being in important ways, ” he stated.
The updated letter, obtained by Fox News, eliminates these certain limitations, urging soldiers to rely on judgment and common sense when deciding where to enforce immigration rules. “It is unnecessary for the agency’s management to implement rigid rules about where immigration rules may be enforced, ” the new direction stated.
ICE officials speaking to Fox News indicated that lifting these regulations may allow them to target more people who are in the state illegally, as for individuals recently avoided arrest by staying near schools and churches.
A second memo issued the same day addresses the use of humanitarian parole, a tool the Biden administration has utilized to admit hundreds of thousands of migrants, including approximately 1. 5 million individuals through the CBP One app and parole pathways for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Additional parole programs were also introduced for Ukrainians and Afghans.
The memo highlights the statutory requirement that parole authority be applied on a “case-by-case basis, ” a standard that critics argue the administration has exceeded. It underscores that parole should be used in limited and narrowly defined circumstances. The memo states that past administrations have misused the authority in ways that violate statutory guidelines, emphasizing that “categorical parole programs, ” which make broad groups of migrants presumptively eligible, are not authorized by law.
The memo instructs the leadership of ICE and Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) to compile a list of current policies, procedures, and instructions related to parole. These will be reviewed to ensure compliance with the statute, and any programs deemed inconsistent with the law will be phased out. A report summarizing these actions will then be presented to the DHS secretary. Programs found to be improperly implemented will be paused, modified, or terminated in alignment with relevant statutes, regulations, and court rulings.
The release of these memos coincided with a series of executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump, addressing border security. These orders included deploying military forces to the southern border, ending parole programs established under the Biden administration, and halting birthright citizenship for children born to individuals in the country illegally. Trump also declared a national emergency and ordered the resumption of border wall construction.
