By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times – Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Congress delivered on a major part of President Trump’s immigration agenda Wednesday by giving final approval to a bill that requires the Homeland Security Department to detain and try to deport illegal immigrants accused of minor crimes such as shoplifting.
The bill adds legislative heft to Mr. Trump’s efforts to gain control of the border.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that it had ordered 1,500 more troops to the border and would provide airlift support to expedite deportations of illegal immigrants. The Coast Guard was recruited to play a deeper role in the battle against illegal immigration, and federal prosecutors were ordered to pursue charges against sanctuary cities.
In a symbolic move, the White House removed its Biden-era Spanish-language webpage. Homeland Security’s deportation agency revoked Biden-era rules banning employees from using words such as “illegal” and “alien” to refer to those in the country without authorization.
The moves continue an early onslaught on illegal immigration. Mr. Trump has wiped away four years of lenient immigration policy and blazed unprecedented ground with executive orders to upend birthright citizenship and use one of the founding-era Alien and Sedition Acts to oust dangerous migrants.
Some of the actions have the support of Democrats, nearly four dozen of whom joined Republicans on Wednesday to pass the pro-deportation Laken Riley Act.
“This law and the others that will follow it will ensure that no future president will be able to unleash on our country what Joe Biden and his Democratic supporters did,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, California Republican.
The troops will start implementing Mr. Trump’s executive order directing the Defense Department to take a more active role in securing the southern border. He envisions the military being more active in the Southwest than it has been since the days of fighting Pancho Villa.
“The American people have been waiting for such a time as this for our Department of Defense to actually take homeland security seriously. This is a No. 1 priority of the American people,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
The directive to Justice Department prosecutors came in a three-page memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.
He said U.S. attorney’s offices should seek out instances where state or local officials are “resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” according to The Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the memo.
Mr. Bove said conspiracy or migrant harboring charges might be appropriate.
Mr. Bove told prosecutors to pursue more cases against illegal immigrants who commit crimes while in the U.S. He told them to alert courts of a potential increase in immigration work.
Decisions not to prosecute immigration crimes must be reported to the main Justice Department, he said.
The troops and the Justice Department guidance show how quickly Mr. Trump has moved to consolidate his authority throughout the executive branch. Homeland Security this week revoked a Biden-era policy barring agents and officers from arresting illegal immigrants near parks, day care centers, community organizations, school bus stops and major gatherings such as rallies and protests, along with hospitals and churches.
The Republican-led Congress is backing up the president.
The Laken Riley Act would require the Homeland Security Department to pursue the detention of illegal immigrants with certain criminal records.
It passed the House on a 263-156 vote, with 46 Democrats joining Republicans. Earlier this week, it cleared the Senate on a similar bipartisan vote to become the first bill on Mr. Trump’s desk.
Under the legislation, illegal immigrants charged with minor crimes of theft, burglary and shoplifting and major crimes of assaulting law enforcement or killing or maiming anyone would be detained by Homeland Security.
The bill would allow state attorneys general to sue if they suspect the federal government is not adequately enforcing immigration law.
The bill is named after Riley, a nursing student in Georgia who was killed last year by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Jose Ibarra was caught and released, amassed a criminal record, including shoplifting, but remained free in the community, where he had the opportunity to kill Riley.
Republicans said the bill could have kept Ibarra locked up and then deported after his earlier criminal entanglements, which could have saved Riley’s life.
“Take the criminals off the streets,” said Mr. McClintock, who shepherded the bill.
Democratic leaders called the bill a distraction.
“All this sound and fury on Day 1 and Week 1, but nothing to bring down grocery prices,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat.
He said Congress should spend its time on legalizing illegal immigrants and banning some types of firearms.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, Florida Democrat, said the bill was “shameful.”
“On its face, this is an evil bill bent to empower a violent man who is not interested in solving the problems of working people but interested in power,” Mr. Frost said.
His remarks drew a rebuke from the presiding officer for insulting the president and a correction from Mr. McClintock, who said illegal immigrants are already supposed to be detained under the law until their cases are heard. He said the bill aimed to identify those who “really” needed to be kept off the streets.
