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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration is greatly expanding the number of people living in the U.S. illegally who are considered a priority for deportation, including people arrested for traffic violations, according to agency documents released Tuesday.The documents represent a sweeping rewrite of the nation's immigration enforcement priorities.

The US can give the boot to virtually every illegal immigrant in the country, and those caught crossing the southern border will be busted or sent packing, according to memos issued Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security. The new rules reflect the Trump Administration’s get-tough stance on illegals and are an about-face from the Obama administration’s “catch and release” policy — which let non-criminal undocumented immigrants remain in the US even after being caught. The memos put into practice policies outlined in two executive orders President Trump signed last month. “The Department no longer will exempt classes or categories...

ICE agents have officially been given the green light to begin making more arrests and deportations of illegals according to a report released by The Washington Times on Tuesday. From The Washington Times: Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly officially ordered federal agents this week to begin arresting and deporting more illegal immigrants, releasing them from the handcuffs the Obama administration had imposed, and making headway on one of President Trump’s chief campaign promises… …Those caught at the border are to be swiftly shipped back, Mr. Kelly said, and he freed agents to target a broader universe of illegal immigrants...

Following an intense week of sweeps across the country that nabbed hundreds of undocumented immigrants in at least seven states, authorities on Friday tried to downplay those actions as “routine.” Don’t believe them. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensen, who according to The Washington Post “dislikes the term ‘raids,’ and prefers to say authorities are conducting ‘targeted enforcement actions,’” said the sweeps were “routine” and targeted mostly hardened criminals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official David Marin echoed that line, calling the raids “surge operations” that target “people in this country illegally who have criminal convictions,” according to NPR....

Federal immigration authorities arrested at least 160 illegal aliens over multiple days and across multiple states in what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is calling “routine” immigration enforcement actions.Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Gillian Christensen confirmed to the Washington Post that “routine” immigration enforcement actions were taken this week in Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia; and two other cities that were not identified. The enforcement actions took place at home and workplaces.The spokesperson noted it was an unprecedented step to issue statements on such raids while they were ongoing, but fast-spreading social media commentary triggered the agency to comment...

Twelve billion here, fifteen billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money. Put them together, though, and it comes close to the actual projected cost of the border wall. Reuters reports that the Department of Homeland Security’s proposal runs far ahead of the funds that Republicans in Congress planned to allocate: President Donald Trump’s “wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take more than three years to construct, based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal report seen by Reuters on...

Full Title: Big trouble!' Homeland Security suspends enforcement of travel ban as furious Trump slam 'so-called' 'Big trouble!' Homeland Security suspends enforcement of travel ban as furious Trump slam 'so-called' judge's decision to halt immigration order, warning it could lead to 'death and destruction' Donald Trump slammed judge's decision Saturday to halt his immigration order Judge James Robart temporarily blocked Trump's immigration ban nationwide Several major airlines say citizens can board U.S. bound flights on Saturday Qatar, Air France, Etihand and Emirates among those allowing people to boardThe Washington state judge's ruling was made effective immediately on Friday Customs and Border Protection told major...

The Department of Homeland Security has asked U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan, a former longtime Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, to step down from his post. News of his departure, expected within a month, comes as the Trump administration moves toward tougher enforcement of immigration laws. Two sources familiar with Morgan's departure told Reuters that he held a morning phone call with employees to say that he was not resigning – but had been asked to leave by the Trump administration. Morgan's ouster also comes the day after President Donald Trump announced a broad plan to crack down on...

Full title: Court Victory: Federal Judge Orders Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Other Top DHS Officials, to Preserve Email Records Sought by Judicial Watch “Specifically, the Court will order the individuals to copy any emails from the relevant time period in any private email accounts that might contain responsive materials onto portable thumb drives, to be kept in the individuals’ personal possessions.” – U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss has ordered Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Jeh Johnson and three other top DHS officials to...

A memo from the Department of Homeland Security, which was recently reviewed by Reuters, suggest that the Trump administration plans to hit the ground running on the construction of that U.S.-Mexico border wall when they move into the White House later this month. The memo apparently summarized a meeting held between DHS officials and Trump's transition team on December 5th in which requests were made for an assessment of "all assets available for border wall and barrier construction." In a wide-ranging request for documents and analysis, President-elect Donald Trump's transition team asked the Department of Homeland Security last month to...

‘If the agency officials are permitted to leave their employment while retaining agency records in their personal email accounts, it risks creating a situation comparable to that of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.’ Hearing Thursday, January 5(Washington DC) – Judicial Watch today announced a federal court hearing will be held Thursday, January 5, 2017, regarding Judicial Watch’s request that the Department of Homeland Security preserve the emails of Secretary Jeh Johnson and other top officials who used personal email accounts for government business. Judicial Watch had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking agency records in...

Trump said in a statement. “He is the right person to spearhead the urgent mission of stopping illegal immigration and securing our borders, streamlining TSA and improving coordination between our intelligence and law enforcement agencies." Accepting the appointment, Kelly said that "the American people voted in this election to stop terrorism, take back sovereignty at our borders, and put a stop to political correctness that for too long has dictated our approach to national security.

On Thursday, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ask “why [it] was attempting to breach” the firewall protecting his computer infrastructure. The letter also drew attention to the fact that “under 18 U.S.C. 1030, attempting to gain access or exceeding authorized access to protected computer systems is illegal."In the weeks and months leading up to the elections, DHS and other federal agencies expressed growing concerns over the threat of Russian hackers penetrating government computers. Many of those concerns were based in the oft-repeated claim that the hacking of the...

Full Title: John Kelly, Trump’s Homeland Security pick, gave a remarkable speech 4 days after his son died serving in Afghanistan On Veterans Day in 2010, inside an unremarkable hotel ballroom in St. Louis, Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, delivered what the Washington Post described as “a passionate and at times angry speech about the military’s sacrifices and its troops’ growing sense of isolation from society.” That he was able to speak at all was remarkable. Four days earlier, Kelly’s 29-year-old son, Marine 1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, stepped on a land mine while leading a patrol in southern Afghanistan....

Donald Trump is tapping Gen. John Kelly to run the Department of Homeland Security, CBS News confirms. The final request and acceptance, sources told CBS’ Major Garrett, occurred while Kelly was traveling in Europe. His pick for DHS secretary will be announced by the transition staff in the coming days. Kelly is the third general tapped by the president-elect, joining Gen. James Mattis, Mr. Trump’s pick to become the next secretary of Defense, and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s incoming national security advisor. Like Mattis, Kelly is a Marine with a reputation for bluntness.

Two agents from U.S. Homeland Security’s ICE unit arrived at my door in September looking for a Polish lady — not a person, but a painting: Melchior Geldorp’s “Portrait of a Lady.” She had, they informed me, been looted by the Nazis from the National Museum in Warsaw. Unsure if these gentlemen were indeed who they claimed to be, I didn’t invite them in. But I knew exactly what they were seeking: My partner, David, and I had purchased this very portrait — ostensibly the work of a different artist — a decade earlier from a major auction house in...

One of President-elect Donald Trump's potential cabinet picks showed photographers more than he intended over the weekend, revealing part of an aggressive plan to change the Department of Homeland Security's approach to combating illegal immigration. When the two posed for pictures beforehand, however, Kobach was clutching his proposal – and photographs captured the parts that his left hand didn't obscure. They included uncompromising approaches to deportations, providing for the 'rapid build' of the wall that Candidate Trump promised for America's southern border – 1,989 miles of it – and part of a plan that appears targeted at making sure illegal...

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has already laid out his plan for overhauling of the nation's immigration system, and it includes many of president-elect Donald Trump's most prominent — and controversial — campaign priorities, including reinstating an immigrant tracking system and questioning "high risk" immigrants about their views on Sharia law and jihad. The plan was laid out in a document Kobach, who's considered a potential pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security in Trump's administration, brought to his meeting with the president-elect this meeting — which was photographed by the Associated Press.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)tells Breitbart news that he would consider a position as Secretary of the Department Homeland Security. There is a petition circulating to draft him for the post. “It’s flattering and I appreciate it,” King tells Breitbart News. “The work that I’ve done here in this Congress for the last 14 years points to a task like that as something I believe I have the qualifications for and from looking across the list of people, I would say I would tip my hat to Jeff Sessions if he were interested because he is also excellent. But beyond that,...

The Department of Justice on Thursday charged 61 people for their role in a call center scam.Federal prosecutors charged 61 individuals and entities across the world Thursday in connection to a transnational call center operation that investigators say scammed United States residents out of millions. The arrests follow a three-year joint investigation between the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), and the US Treasury Inspector General of Tax Administration. NBC Bay Area first reported on these scams where a caller posing as a federal agent threatens the person on the other line with arrests, lawsuits or worse, if they...