Trump moves to expand ‘fast-track’ deportations

In another significant departure from the Biden administration’s immigration policies announced on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security has rescinded existing guidelines that prevent immigration officers from entering “sensitive” areas such as schools.

In a statement, DHS said that the guidelines “thwart” law enforcement.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP [Customs and Border Protection] and ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens – including murderers and rapists – who have illegally come into our country,” a DHS spokesman said.

The spokesman added that “the Trump administration will not tie the hands” of law enforcement, and expects them to “use common sense.”

A second directive stops the use of humanitarian parole, which helped migrants of certain categories enter the US. Individuals will now be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

An internal memo obtained by CBS, the BBC’s US partner, also shows that the State Department has cancelled all refugee processing and travel into the US.

Officials were instructed to stop the refugee referral process overseas and to pause a Biden administration programme that allows private American citizens to sponsor refugees, according to the document.