New Secret Police Force Under the Guise of Immigration Enforcement Just Dropped
The Department of Homeland Security has granted U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services powers similar to those granted to ICE
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would be granting law enforcement powers similar to those granted to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), further escalating its latest moves to racially profile and target Latinos and Black people, as we have seen in cities from Los Angeles to Washington D.C.
The White House has been deploying federal agents from myriad agencies to Latino and Black communities and occupying neighborhoods under the guise of immigration enforcement. This targeting is emblematic of the Christian white nationalist nature of the administration, made up of dozens of people appointed by Trump. From White House appointees to the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) to the Religious Liberty Commission, the motivations of this administration are clear and driven by racial and ethnic animus toward nonwhite groups.
“In the final rule, the DHS authorities provided to USCIS include making arrests, carrying firearms, executing search and arrest warrants, and other powers standard for federal law enforcement,” reads an email from USCIS. “This rule allows USCIS to implement Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s delegation of certain law enforcement authorities to the agency. This rule allows USCIS to thoroughly fulfill its national security, fraud detection, and public safety missions related to immigration adjudications.”
USCIS has not been considered a law enforcement agency until now. Its primary purpose is administering the immigration system by adjudicating and making decisions about temporary visas, permanent residency, and citizenship. Part of its mission is to detect immigration fraud, ensure national security through migrant vetting, verify employment, manage applications, and provide guidance through the complex immigration system.
DHS Secretary Noem wants to make them a law enforcement agency akin to ICE by granting the USCIS director the authority to order expedited removals and investigate civil and criminal violations of immigration laws within the USCIS jurisdiction. Instead of referring cases to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), USCIS now has the power to act as ICE.
“USCIS has always been an enforcement agency,” said USCIS Director Joseph Edlow via a statement. “By upholding the integrity of our immigration system, we enforce the laws of this nation. As Secretary Noem delegated lawful authorities to expand the agency’s law enforcement capabilities, this rule allows us to fulfill our critical mission,” continued Edlow. “This historic moment will better address immigration crimes, hold those that perpetrate immigration fraud accountable, and act as a force multiplier for DHS and our federal law enforcement partners, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force.”
According to USCIS, the agency “plans to recruit and train special agents who will exercise the additional law enforcement authorities.” The final rule dictating the powers being delegated to USCIS can be found here at the Federal Register and will be publicly available on September 5. According to a memo, USCIS will have the authority to investigate alleged civil and criminal violations of the immigration laws, including issuing and executing warrants, and making recommendations for prosecutions or other actions “when deemed advisable.”
Read the Memo
Read the Federal Register Notice
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Perfect. More instances of immigrants getting nabbed while going through the rigamarole of residency and citizenship applications.
Great reporting as always, Arturo. A point for your consideration (not my unique thought): instead of the term “christian nationalists”, might we not call them “religious nationalists”? The cruelties espoused by these people do not align with true Christian values. Hopefully the words “Christian” and “values” still can be spoken in the same sentence, somewhere….