By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take a series of executive actions on his first day in the White House to strengthen immigration controls and roll back President Joe Biden’s flagship legal entry programs, officials said. declared three sources close to the matter. Reuters.

The executive actions would give federal immigration agents more latitude to arrest people without criminal records, send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and restart construction of the border wall, the sources said.

Trump is also expected to end Biden’s humanitarian programs that have allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter legally in recent years and could encourage those whose status has expired to leave voluntarily, according to the sources who declined to comment. be identified.

“All of this should be on the table,” said Mark Morgan, an immigration official during Trump’s first term, who said he was not speaking for the Trump transition team.

Trump’s first executive actions would revive his immigration agenda, which includes promising to illegally deport a record number of immigrants to the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates there were 11 million immigrants without legal status in 2022, a figure that may have increased. Some cities that have received migrants, including New York, Chicago and Denver, have struggled to house and support them.

Trump, a Republican, defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in last week’s presidential election. He claimed the Biden administration allowed high levels of illegal immigration to focus on his campaign.

Trump’s transition efforts are in their early stages and plans could change before his Jan. 20 inauguration. A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Migrant apprehensions have reached a record under Biden’s presidency, straining U.S. border controls. But illegal crossings have fallen dramatically this year, as Biden has instituted new border restrictions and Mexico has stepped up enforcement.

Trump aims to further reduce illegal crossings and use a whole-of-government approach to arrest, detain and deport large numbers of people.

Trump announced Sunday evening that former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan would serve as “border czar” in the White House, overseeing immigration security and enforcement.

Vice President-elect JD Vance appeared to confirm Monday that Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s restrictive immigration agenda during Trump’s first term, would return as deputy chief of staff for policy, assuring that the question would remain central.

Trump’s aggressive agenda will likely face legal challenges from Democratic-governed states, the American Civil Liberties Union and immigration advocates.

THE FIRST DAY TAKES SHAPE

One of Trump’s day one executive actions is expected to be an executive order on so-called domestic control, arrest and illegal detention of immigrants in the United States, the sources said.

Trump intends to abandon Biden administration guidelines that prioritized deportation of people with serious criminal records and limited enforcement against noncriminals, they said.

The Trump order would require deportations to prioritize people accused of crimes and people who have exhausted legal avenues to stay, but would not prevent agents from picking up other potentially deportable immigrants.

In the United States, more than a million immigrants have exhausted their legal remedies and been deported, according to the American Immigration Council, a pro-immigration organization.

Homan told Fox News on Monday that those people would be a priority. “A federal judge said, ‘You have to go home,’ and they didn’t,” Homan said.

Some groups – such as international students who support the Palestinian militant group Hamas and have violated the terms of their student visas – could also be listed as priority, two of the sources said.

ICE could use military aircraft during deportations and seek help from other government agencies to transport deportees, a source said. “All options are on the table,” the source said.

Another order would focus on border security, the two sources said. Trump plans to send National Guard troops to the border and declare illegal immigration a national emergency to free up funds for border wall construction, the sources said.

Building a wall in Arizona – where Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has opposed Republican efforts to enforce the text – could be a priority, two sources said.

END BIDEN PROGRAMS

Trump is considering ending Biden’s temporary humanitarian “parole” programs that have allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter legally and access work permits, the sources said.

The programs include an initiative for some U.S.-sponsored migrants and another that allows migrants in Mexico to use an app to schedule appointments at the border.

In the United States, people whose parole status has expired and who leave voluntarily could be allowed to seek legal admission without penalty, the sources said.

Trump is also expected to talk with Mexico about reinstating its “Remain in Mexico” program that required non-Mexican asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their cases in the United States were resolved.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; editing by Mary Milliken and Cynthia Osterman)