While Congress is being asked by the Trump administration to give approval to a stricter overhaul of immigration laws in the US, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is looking at options that would allow it to transform the nation’s immigration system without the need for Congressional approval.
The DHS has been exploring various subtle changes to immigration policies that could have massive ramifications. The changes include expanding quicker deportation proceedings, tightening US visa programs to limit the amount of legal immigration to the US, and limiting the protections available to unaccompanied, undocumented immigrant minors. This is according to several sources that are aware of the plans.
Sources say the plans are at different stages of development and that none are final yet. A number were also featured in the immigration priorities list that President Donald Trump presented to Congress this week and it not yet certain whether the administration will hold fire until results are revealed on the negotiations over attempts to save the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The plans do show the extent to which the Trump administration wants to change the country’s immigration system, even via executive unilateral actions.
President Barack Obama created the deferred action program via executive action in 2012, but the Trump administration has been rolling back many policies from the Obama era and also making alterations to systems that are even older.