Donald Trump issues ‘roadmap’ for rapid deportation of ‘Temporary’ status migrants, says Report

Donald Trump's administration has given Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE) officials the power to quickly deport migrants who were allowed into the country temporarily under former president Joe Biden's regime.

According to an internal government memo that was accessed by The New York Times, the memo offers the ICE officials a ‘roadmap’ on how to expand their powers to deport, and expel migrants at the earliest. The memo comes days after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.

Donald Trump had long promised to 'fix' the immigration enforcement apparatus. Around 500 ‘illegal’ migrants have already been arrested and hundreds have been deported out of the country. But its not only about the illegal migrants. The latest memo also targets those who followed previously authorised pathways to enter the US.

What does the 'roadmap' say

During Joe Biden's regime, an app called CBP One enabled migrants to schedule appointments to enter the United States. The migrants were granted temporary legal status under “parole,” allowing them to stay in the country for up to two years. However, the memo, or 'roadmap' now seems to permit their deportation, regardless of whether their legal status has expired or if they still have time, reported The New York Times.

Around 1.4 million ‘Temporary status’ migrants are likely to be affected, who entered the US in the beginning of 2023.

Which migrants are being targeted

In the memo, Benjamine C. Huffman, the acting homeland security secretary directed ICE officials to analyse immigrants the agency is “aware of”, who can be deported under the new fast deportations, and consider whether they should be removed from the country. The memo has also directed officials to prioritise immigrants who have been in the country longer than a year but who have not applied for asylum, stated the NYT report.

What powers do ICE officials now have

The memo further directs that if necessary, officials can decide on whether to strip parole.

If migrants are already in the formal deportation process, which usually takes up years, ICE officials can move to terminate their case and place them into the sped-up deportation program, reported The New York Times.

The memo also provides ICE officials the ability to target those who have been in the country under a temporary program but have remained more than two years for formal deportation proceedings.