By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump is expected to take a series of executive actions on his first day as president to strengthen immigration controls and roll back legal entry programs signed into law by Biden, a sweeping effort that will be led by the new ” border tsar” Tom. Homan and other Republican hardliners on immigration, three sources familiar with the matter told 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.

Homan, who served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2017 to 2018 under Trump, will bring a deep understanding of the U.S. immigration system after a four-decade career that took him from agent from frontline Border Patrol to agency chief. which illegally arrests and deports immigrants to the United States.

Trump is also expected to end President Joe 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 refused to be identified.

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

Trump’s first executive actions would kick off 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 Homan would serve as “border czar” in the White House, overseeing security and immigration 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 is also considering nominating South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Reuters reported Tuesday. Noem, whose Midwestern state is closer to Canada than Mexico, has taken a tough stance on illegal immigration and has made several trips in recent years to the U.S.-Mexico border, which she described as a “war zone” in January.

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.

An estimated 1.4 million immigrants in the United States have been subject to final deportation orders, according to ICE, a group that will be a focus of the new Trump administration.

“A federal judge said, ‘You have to go home,’ and they didn’t,” Homan told Fox News on Monday.

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 plans to end Biden’s temporary humanitarian “parole” programs, which 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, which required non-Mexican asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases in the United States were resolved.

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