The Atlantic

The Contradictory Claims About Trump's Deportation Plan

The president has said his administration is targeting “really bad dudes,” but his policy targets people who haven't been charged or convicted of anything.
Source: John Moore / Getty

“Really bad dudes.”

That’s what President Trump called the undocumented immigrants his administration intends to remove, but so far, his orders have indicated otherwise.

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security issued new rules on which undocumented immigrants should be considered a priority for deportation. The memos include instructions to prioritize undocumented immigrants who are charged, but not necessarily convicted of a crime, as well as those who are said to have “committed” an act that could be charged as a crime. That criteria massively expands the number of undocumented immigrants considered a priority for deportation, including those who may have committed no crime at all. The memo also includes requests for the hiring of 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and 5,000 more Customs and Border Protection agents.

Today, there are roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants living. But funding to put some of the administration’s plans in place is complicated and could delay its execution.

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