Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo to the Department of Justice workforce with orders to investigate “for possible prosecution” state and local officials who do not comply “with legal immigration-related orders and requests.” with Trump’s enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The memo, obtained by NBC News, directs the Justice Department to devote more resources to immigration enforcement and calls for FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces across the country to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security. National “to assist in the execution of President Trump’s initiatives related to immigration.”
Border czar Tom Homan has threatened to jail local officials if they resist mass deportations.
The memo directs the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons to “review their files to identify biometric information and/or data related to noncitizens illegally located in the United States.” .”
“The Department of Justice will take all necessary measures to protect the public and secure the United States border by removing illegal aliens from the country and prosecuting illegal aliens for crimes committed within the jurisdiction of the United States,” the memo says. It directs the Justice Department to pursue all potential immigration violations and coordinate with federal courts to handle “the greatest number of prosecutions that will result.”
The memo ends by directing the department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws and policies that prevent officials from cooperating with immigration authorities, such as sanctuary city laws, and “take legal action to challenge such laws.”
