Additional Coverage:
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamin Huffeman has granted certain Justice Department law enforcement components the power to act as immigration officers. A memo obtained by a national news outlet details the change.
The memo states these agencies now have the same immigration enforcement authority previously granted to the FBI. The agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the US Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The DEA and ATF have limited experience with immigration enforcement. The US Marshals Service typically only deals with immigration cases involving fugitives.
This announcement comes shortly after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded a policy that limited immigration enforcement actions in “sensitive locations.”
These locations previously included schools, churches, hospitals, funerals, weddings, and public demonstrations. The policy change now allows federal immigration authorities to operate in these areas.
Secretary Huffeman stated the change is intended to prevent criminals from using these locations to evade arrest. He expressed confidence in law enforcement’s ability to exercise common sense in these situations.