Donald Trump expands crackdown on undocumented immigrants

The Trump administration issued tough new orders that drastically broaden the ways in which federal immigration laws should be enforced, in a sweeping crackdown on undocumented immigrants, putting nearly all of the country's 11 million undocumented foreigners in its crosshairs.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled two memos on Tuesday detailing wide-ranging directives focused on both interior enforcement and cracking down on security along the US-Mexico border.

The memorandums would enable federal authorities to more aggressively detain undocumented immigrants, expand the pool of immigrants prioritised for removal from the country, and restrict asylum claims by migrants.

The memos set out that any immigrant living in the US illegally who has been charged or convicted of any crime – and even those suspected of a crime – will now be an enforcement priority. That could include people arrested for shoplifting or minor traffic offenses.

John Kelly, the secretary of the DHS said the measures were necessary to address a problem that has "overwhelmed" government resources.

"The surge of illegal immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal agencies and resources and has created a significant national security vulnerability to the United States," he said in one of the memos.

Rights groups labelled the move a "witch hunt," warning that mass deportations would damage families with deep roots in the United States and hurt the economy.

Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned the new guidelines will "harm national security and public safety."

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio said he refused to turn the city's police officers into immigration agents or its jails into "holding pens for deportation policy that will only undermine the inclusiveness that has helped make New York city the safest big city in the nation."

Some advocates suggested the new directives would result in prompt legal action. “These memos confirm that the Trump administration is willing to trample on due process, human decency, the wellbeing of our communities, and even protections for vulnerable children, in pursuit of a hyper-aggressive mass deportation policy,” said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s immigrants’ rights project.