Politics
(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump turns as he talks to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at McAllen International Airport as he prepares to leave after a visit to the southern border, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019, in McAllen, Texas.
- The Trump administration is deploying border patrol agents to ten sanctuary cities from February to May, The New York Times reported.
- A hundred agents, including some from an elite tactical team are being deployed to help local immigration officials arrest immigrants who don't have proper authorization to be in the country.
- This is an escalation of Trump's immigration policies and it isn't the first time he's clashed with sanctuary cities.
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President Donald Trumps administration is sending 100 border patrol including some from an elite tactical unit to 10 sanctuary cities, The New York Times reported.
The move is a part of a "supercharged" arrest operation in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit, and Newark from February to May.
Border Patrol officers will be helping local Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers, the Times reported.
Some of the agents deployed are a part of elite tactical unit similar to a SWAT team, known as BORTAC. They normally conduct "high-risk operations" in "rugged and sweltering" areas along the border that involve violent offenders, The Times reported. Officials told The Times that these agents will help local officers in sanctuary cities conduct "run-of-the-mill immigration arrests."
According to the Associated Press, sending border patrol agents to the inner parts of the country is "unusual."
Sanctuary cities "limit cooperation with or involvement in federal immigration enforcement actions," according to CNN. Trump and these cities have often clashed as he has pursued a crackdown on immigration.
Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence told the AP, that the additional officers were needed because undocumented immigrants are being released from jails and his officers could not arrest them in a timely manner.
A spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection told The Times the decision was made "in order to enhance the integrity of the immigration system, protect public safety, and strengthen our national security."
This isn't the first time Trump has clashed with Sanctuary cities. In 2017, Business Insider's Michelle Mark reported that Trump ordered ane executive order for sanctuary cities to abide by immigration laws or have their federal funding pulled.
Previous immigration policies by the Trump administration have caused public outcry. In 2018, migrant children wer separated from their families in an effort to deter people from crossing the border. Even after the policy had allegedly ended, it was difficult for families that were separated to reunite, Mark also reported.
- Read more:
- Trump's immigration crackdown forced 16,000 children, including 500 babies, to wait for weeks or months in Mexico for their asylum hearings
- 'Sanctuary cities' are ready to fight Trump's potentially 'unconstitutional' executive order
- 'They cannot find the children at all': Migrant parents face chaos and red tape trying to reunite with their kids