[JURIST] US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly [official websites] officially issued [press release] on Monday two memoranda to the department directing its workforce to implement two executive orders on the enforcement of immigration laws. The first memorandum [text, PDF] implements President Donald Trump’s Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvement Policies [executive order]. Kelly directed US Customs and Border Protection [official website] to hire 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents. This memo orders the immediate identification and allocation of sources of available funding for the construction of a wall along the Mexican border. A standardized method will also be developed for public reporting of data regarding aliens apprehended near the border for violations of immigration law.

The second memorandum [text, PDF] implements the “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the US” executive order [text]. Kelly directed ICE to hire 10,000 officers and agents “expeditiously” and establishes a Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office. All funds previously used to advocate on behalf of illegal aliens are now directed to the VOICE office, and the department must immediately terminate outreach or advocacy services to illegal aliens. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [official website] director was also directed to provide a weekly report to the public of aliens that have been released from custody, listing their name, immigration status and the arrest, charge or conviction for which the alien was in custody.

The two immigration executive orders implemented by these DHS memoranda were signed [JURIST report] last month by President Donald Trump [official website], five days after his inauguration. The early days of the Trump administration have stirred much controversy, particularly lawsuits with regard to Trump’s controversial executive orders affecting immigrants. The DHS policies are part of a larger overhaul of the country’s approach to immigration undertaken by the new administration, largely departing from the policies of other post-WWII presidents [JURIST op-ed].