CHELSEA, Mass. — The Trump administration is reportedly expanding the powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The New York Times reports a new memo signed by the head of the Homeland Security Department appears to allow ICE agents the ability to quickly deport migrants allowed into the United States by two Biden-era programs.
According to the report, the memo “offers ICE officials a road map on how to use expansive powers that were long reserved only for encounters at the southern border to quickly remove migrants.”
The Trump administration will also reportedly put a stop to an app called CBP One, which allowed migrants to schedule appointments to enter the U.S. in an initiative that let in certain migrants fleeing Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti.
About 1.4 million people entered the country through the two programs since 2023, the report indicated.
The memo directs ICE to look at immigrants known to the agency who can be deported under the new fast deportations and sidestep immigration courts.
It also suggests they prioritize immigrants who have not applied for asylum but have been in the country longer than a year.
The memo comes as agents arrested several undocumented individuals with criminal histories in the Boston area on Wednesday night, including alleged gang members, and some wanted for violent crimes such as rape and murder.
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