A Honduran immigration detainee boards a deportation flight to San Pedro Sula, Honduras in Mesa, Arizona. February 28, 2013.
Photo by John Moore for Getty Images
An internal assessment from the Department of Homeland Security obtained by The Washington Post indicated that President Donald Trump's administration is attempting to assemble a "nationwide deportation force" targeting undocumented immigrants.
The documents outline a vast expansion of those working under the banner of enforcement. Under the proposed guidelines, local police forces across the country would become defacto immigration officers, while the abandoning of polygraph and fitness exams would ensure the speedy hiring of hundreds of new Customs and Border Patrol officers.
Detention facilities would be boosted as well. "33,000 more detention beds to house undocumented immigrants" have been identified, according to the Post. In February, President Trump signed an executive order expanding the pool of undocumented immigrants who qualify for deportation.
However, the proposal itself acknowledges a significant hurdle for many of the steps: funding. Several of the ideas would require funds from Congress, which would be unlikely to pass, since Democrats have signalled staunch opposition to Trump's long-proposed border wall.
A DHS spokesperson declined to comment to the post, calling the leaked assessment “pre-decisional documents” that have not been reviewed by senior DHS members.