logo
Opinion - Suddenly, immigration enforcement is job one for the entire federal government

Opinion - Suddenly, immigration enforcement is job one for the entire federal government

Yahoo23-05-2025

President Trump has decided that the most important mission, across the federal government, is immigration enforcement — not investigating serious crimes of drugs or guns, terrorists or tax evaders, or preparing our military for missions overseas.
His administration has shifted unprecedented federal resources to this mission — the biggest such reorganization since 9/11. But is it making America safer, or leaving us more vulnerable?
Trump's executive orders use language evocative of the period after 9/11 and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. The orders refer to a migration emergency, invoke the language of war — 'invasion' and 'predatory incursion' — and designate as terrorist organizations the cartels that have been facilitating this migration.
But even after 9/11, emergency warlike powers were not invoked against immigration to this extent.
Several of Trump's executive actions have redirected the missions and resources of not only DHS but also the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State to prioritize immigration enforcement.
One is designed 'to ensure that the Armed Forces of the United States prioritize the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States along our national borders.' Trump's orders declaring an 'invasion' of migrants are the basis for this redirection of military activity.
The same order gives the military command with responsibility for the defense of North America the mission to 'seal the borders' and a mandate to create mission plans and guidance for the use of the Force to repel 'forms of invasion, including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.'
Note the recognition that these are 'criminal' activities, although they are described as an 'invasion.' A longstanding law, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, prevents the military from engaging in civilian law enforcement inside the United States, with an exception under the Insurrection Act of 1807 — which the Trump administration has threatened to use.
These changes have led to a significant redeployment of military and federal law enforcement resources toward immigration enforcement inside the United States. On the military side, these include using Department of Defense facilities to detain arrested migrants, employing Department of Defense aircraft to deport migrants, deploying Navy warships to the Gulf of Mexico to manage illegal immigration, and using Air Force reconnaissance planes to monitor the southern border.
Another recent action reassigned a 60-foot strip of federal land along the border in New Mexico and Texas as a military zone, which allows the military to arrest migrants crossing there. Military resources have been used at the border in the past, but never to this extent in modern times.
Arrests at the border have reached record lows, raising questions about this continuing use of military assets. Arrests inside the country are high, disruptive and fear-generating, even though deportations haven't reached Biden-era levels. The fiscal costs are also high, forcing the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider using military aircraft for deportations.
Meanwhile, federal law enforcement resources across the government are also being redirected. The office of Homeland Security Investigations within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was specifically redirected back to immigration enforcement as its primary mission. This reversal leaves its work investigating human trafficking, counter-proliferation, drug smuggling and other missions as secondary.
Another executive order directed the attorney general and the secretary of Homeland Security to supplement available personnel to secure the southern border and enforce immigration laws, essentially ordering law enforcement officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives; FBI; and the U.S. Marshalls Service to serve as immigration agents.
The Homeland Security secretary also requested that IRS criminal investigators assist with immigration enforcement and deputized the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service as immigration officers. And recent reports even have U.S. Postal Service Inspectors being used in immigration investigations.
On the prosecutions side, the Department of Justice has been ordered to prioritize prosecution of all criminal penalties authorized under immigration law, including many offenses that have not been criminally prosecuted in decades, such as misdemeanor fines or imprisonment for failing to report a change of address.
These actions raise questions about whether other crucial law enforcement functions are being de-emphasized: Are the Drug Enforcement Administration's drug cartel investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives' illegal gun tracking, FBI's serious crimes and terrorism investigations, ICE's child trafficking investigations, and the Department of Justice prosecutions being affected? How long is this redeployment expected to last?
Yes, the increase in immigration during the Biden administration created significant challenges at the border and in U.S. cities, with some entrants posing criminal or security threats. However, most immigrants do not fall into these categories. That makes the Trump administration's singular focus on immigration enforcement questionable.
Despite the administration's claim it is going after 'the worst of the worst,' it also is deporting student protestors, families, and those fleeing persecution. And the actions of the vast majority of immigrants do not support the administration's claims that we are facing an 'invasion' or terrorist threat so existential as to call for several national emergency declarations. At least one federal judge has agreed.
Of course, we should take all legitimate threats to our homeland and our borders seriously. But those are not limited to the realm of immigration. In zeroing in on immigration enforcement, the administration risks neglecting other serious threats to national security — to our peril.
Theresa Cardinal Brown is a fellow at the National Immigration Forum, a Council on National Security and Immigration leader and a veteran of the Department of Homeland Security who served in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state
FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state

Yahoo

time24 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state

FIRST ON FOX: Aaron Reitz, a top official in President Donald Trump's Department of Justice, has resigned his post in the administration to run for attorney general of Texas, entering what he is calling a "fight for the soul of Texas." Reitz, a former Marine and chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, served in the Trump administration under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy. Following speculation of a possible run for Texas attorney general, one of the most powerful positions in the state, Reitz resigned his position with the DOJ on Wednesday and officially launched his campaign the day after. "If we lose Texas, we lose the Republic," Reitz said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. 205 Arrested In Fbi Child Sex Operation, Patel And Bondi Announce "This is no time for half-measures or untested cowards," he said, adding, "We are in a fight for the soul of Texas, our nation, and Western civilization itself." Read On The Fox News App "As Attorney General, I'll use every ounce of legal firepower to defend President Trump, crush the radical Left, advance the America and Texas First agenda, and look out for everyday Texans," he said. This comes as current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running in hopes of replacing incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in one of the most hotly contested primary races of the year. Reitz pledged to partner with the Trump administration to "clean up the border catastrophe with mass deportations and enhanced border security, take down the Soros-backed district attorneys, obliterate woke indoctrination, expose and root out election fraud, and defend our Constitutional rights without apology." John Cornyn Scores Tim Scott Endorsement, But John Rich Calls Cornyn 'The Lindsey Graham Of Texas' Reitz touted his conservative bona fides, saying, "I've spent my entire career in the trenches with the toughest conservatives in America." He is likely to garner endorsements from some of the country's leading Republicans, with DOJ officials, including Bondi, giving him a string of fond farewells after he announced his departure. In an X post Bondi said: "I'm proud to have worked with @aaron_reitz at @TheJusticeDept. Aaron played a central role in our work to Make America Safe Again — his next chapter will surely contribute to @POTUS's mission, and I look forward to seeing what Aaron does next in his home state of Texas!" FBI Director Kash Patel also chimed in, saying "Aaron is a personal friend, great American, and a relentless advocate for law and order. Thanks for serving our country, now it's time to deliver on his next mission. Good luck." Bondi Announces One Of Largest Fentanyl Seizures In Us History Before serving in the Trump administration and on Cruz's staff, Reitz previously held the position of Texas Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy under Paxton. In December, Paxton spoke very highly of Reitz, saying, "he's a proven and effective fighter for our Constitution and American Values" who was "our 'offensive coordinator' leading my very aggressive Texas-v-Biden docket." Paxton said that while working in his office Reitz "spearheaded some of our agency's most consequential actions on border security, immigration, Big Tech, Covid, energy, the environment, and election integrity." Texas Republican state Senator Mayes Middleton, another pro-Trump conservative, is also running for attorney article source: FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state

Businesses to lawmakers: Don't mess with Energy Star
Businesses to lawmakers: Don't mess with Energy Star

E&E News

time24 minutes ago

  • E&E News

Businesses to lawmakers: Don't mess with Energy Star

Business groups are urging Congress to resist Trump administration efforts to privatize Energy Star, the efficiency program for home appliances and building materials. 'Clear legislative authorization backs ENERGY STAR as a voluntary public-private partnership run by the federal government,' more than 30 trade groups said Wednesday in a letter to lawmakers. 'We respectfully request that ENERGY STAR not be supplanted by non-governmental efforts that could significantly alter and overly complicate the program.' Led by the Real Estate Roundtable, the letter was signed by the National Association of Manufacturers; American Chemistry Council; Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers; Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute; and other groups. Advertisement The letter went to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) and ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito ( and ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)

Terry Moran launches Substack to continue doing ‘important work' following ABC News ouster
Terry Moran launches Substack to continue doing ‘important work' following ABC News ouster

Yahoo

time24 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Terry Moran launches Substack to continue doing ‘important work' following ABC News ouster

A day after ABC News parted ways with longtime correspondent Terry Moran following his 'world-class hater' tweets about Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, Moran announced that he was joining the growing chorus of former TV anchors and hosts who have launched their own Substacks. 'For almost 28 years, I was a reporter and anchor for ABC News, and as you may have heard, I'm not there anymore,' he said in a video posted to social media and his own personal Substack account. In the post titled 'Independence Day,' the former Nightline anchor suggested that he would be going the independent route for the time being, following in the footsteps of other veteran broadcasters and reporters who have recently found themselves sidelined by mainstream news networks and legacy press outlets. 'I'm here, with you, on Substack, this amazing space. And I can't wait to get at it, to get at the important work that we all have to do in this time of such trouble for our country,' he stated. 'I'm gonna be reporting and interviewing and just sharing from you, and hoping to hear from you as well.' Moran did let his followers know that it could be a while before he actually starts producing content on a regular basis. 'So, it'll be a few days, maybe a little bit longer, got to get some stuff sorted out, but can't wait to see you,' he concluded. The now-former ABC News anchor and correspondent is adding his name to the expanding list of prominent names who have turned to Substack and similar subscriber-based platforms as television news networks and media conglomerates continue to slash costs amid dwindling ad revenues. Jim Acosta, the former CNN anchor who left the cable news giant earlier this year rather than accept a move to the dreaded midnight shift, encouraged Moran to follow in his footsteps and join Substack earlier this week. 'Come on in, Terry. The water is warm,' he told Vanity Fair. With other TV news vets such as Joy Reid, Don Lemon, Chuck Todd and Chris Matthews all creating their own online programs – not to mention one-time MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan starting up his own Substack-based media company Zeteo – Vanity Fair spoke to some who have recently taken the dive into independent journalism. 'My advice to Terry or any other legacy media person who goes independent is this: You have spent your whole life as a buyer. People came to you with information, job offers, etc. Now you are a seller,' former CNN analyst Chris Cillizza said, adding, 'My view is that as an independent news creator, you have to be in a lot of places at once.' Moran's Substack announcement also came shortly after anti-Trump digital media empire MeidasTouch – which just hired Katie Phang after MSNBC canceled her show – publicly pitched him to join the network. 'There's a seat at the table for you, Terry,' MeidasTouch founder Ben Meisalas declared in a video posted to social media. 'Help lead the next era of journalism—one that doesn't flinch when democracy is under threat.' The journey from broadcast television to Substacking has been quick for Moran, who was suspended by ABC News on Sunday after he sent out a late-night screed savaging Trump and his deputy chief of staff Miller. 'Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred,' Moran wrote in the since-deleted tweet. 'He's a world-class hater. You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.' He added: 'The thing about Stephen Miller is not that he is the brains behind Trumpism. It's not brains. It's bile.' With the administration demanding that the network take action against Moran and MAGA media calling for him to be fired, ABC News announced on Sunday morning that he was 'suspended pending further evaluation' as his post 'does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards.' Moran, who had just sat down with Trump for a newsmaking and high-profile interview six weeks earlier, found himself fired two days later. Progressives and liberals savaged the move and accused the network of once again capitulating to the president, specifically noting that the network had paid Trump $15 million late last year to settle a defamation lawsuit involving anchor George Stephanopoulos. In the end, though, the decision to cut Moran may have had as much to do with economics as it did with criticism over his tweets, which also reportedly resonated within the halls of the ABC newsroom. 'The fact that Moran was at the end of a contract cycle — his deal was set to expire on Friday, according to a person briefed on the matter — made it easier for ABC to take swift action,' CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter reported on Tuesday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store