A 'leaked' United States Department of Justice memo appears to give ICE officers concerning new powers in Donald Trump's large scale deportation bid.
Prior to his January inauguration, Trump announced plans to embark on the 'largest deportation programme in history', vowing to deport 'maybe as many as 20 million' people.
"We will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," he added.
And now a leaked memo about the controversial 18th century Alien Enemies Act has been dubbed a 'departure from the law' by one legal expert.
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The Alien Enemies Act grants the president powers to detain and deport foreign enemies during a wartime situation, which he has controversially used to deport people suspected of being part of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The memo, obtained by USA Today, reads: “As much as practicable, officers should follow the proactive procedures above—and have an executed Warrant of Apprehension and Removal—before contacting an Alien Enemy.
“However, that will not always be realistic or effective in swiftly identifying and removing Alien Enemies.… An officer may encounter a suspected Alien Enemy in the natural course of the officer’s enforcement activity, such as when apprehending other validated members of Tren de Aragua.
"Given the dynamic nature of enforcement operations, officers in the field are authorised to apprehend aliens upon a reasonable belief that the alien meets all four requirements to be validated as an Alien Enemy.
"This authority includes entering an Alien Enemy’s residence to make an AEA apprehension where circumstances render it impracticable to first obtain a signed Notice and Warrant of Apprehension and Removal.”
Legal experts have criticised the memo, with Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a lawyer and policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, telling USA Today: "I would anticipate this will be challenged in court. It would be a departure from the law. It would allow searches of homes without warrants."
The memo was issued on 14 March by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
An ‘alien enemy’, as per the memo, is defined as an individual 14 years or older who is not a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident, a citizen of Venezuela, and a ‘member of the hostile enemy Tren de Aragua’.
The Alien Enemies Act is the law that was controversially used to deport Venezuelans to the mega-jail in El Salvador known as CECOT.
CECOT spans 410 acres and can house up to 40,000 inmates, making it one of the largest in the world by prisoner capacity, as per government figures.
The facility consists of eight sprawling blocks divided into modules, with the AFP reporting inmates must stay with 65 to 70 others in their cells for up to 23-and-a-half hours a day.
Tyla has contacted the DOJ for a comment.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Gregory Robinson