DOJ Directs Law Enforcement Agencies To Increase Immigration Crackdown: Report
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has instructed law enforcement agencies and prosecutors nationwide to prioritize implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, according to a memo obtained by CBS News. The directive includes potentially prosecuting local officials who obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The memo, sent to employees on Tuesday by Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, emphasized the legal obligation of state and local authorities to cooperate with federal immigration initiatives. Bove, a federal prosecutor who previously served on President Trump’s criminal defense team, stated in the memo, “The Supremacy Clause and other authorities require state and local actors to comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives. Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution,” the memo added.
The memo also expands federal resources to support immigration enforcement, instructing the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces—typically dedicated to counterterrorism efforts—to assist in carrying out immigration-related initiatives. This move follows an executive order signed by President Trump earlier in the week that initiated a process for designating certain cartels as terrorist organizations.
Federal agencies, including the FBI and the DEA, were ordered to share evidence related to non-citizens in the United States with the Department of Homeland Security within 60 days. The memo identified cartels, violent crime, and the fentanyl crisis as “three of the most serious threats facing the American people,” adding that “the Justice Department must, and will, work to eradicate these threats.”
“The Justice Department’s responsibility, proudly shouldered by each of its employees, includes aggressive enforcement of laws enacted by Congress, as well as vigorous defense of the President’s actions on behalf of the United States against legal challenges,” Bove wrote in the memo.
