Chicago – January 24, 2025
In a move that could supercharge the government’s deportation forces, the Trump administration late Thursday deputized thousands more federal law enforcement officers to arrest immigrants in the country illegally.
Two agencies typically enforce the nation’s complex Title 8 immigration laws: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the country’s interior, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the nation’s borders.
On Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman expanded the universe of federal law enforcement officers who can investigate and apprehend immigrants. It wasn’t immediately clear how many officers would be reassigned to immigration enforcement.
“Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trump’s promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations,” Huffman said in a statement. “For decades, efforts to find and apprehend illegal aliens have not been given proper resources. This is a major step in fixing that problem.”
