A new memo from President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) orders federal prosecutors across the country to begin investigating state and local officials who attempt to block the administration’s deportations and immigration enforcement.

The memo was issued by Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, Trump’s former defense attorney.

It outlines “interim decisions and policy changes” pending the confirmation of Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi.

Bove said interim changes are necessary as an initial response to Trump’s executive orders regarding “three of the most serious threats facing the American people.”

Those threats, Bove wrote, are cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, such as Tren de Aragua (TdA) and La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).

He noted that organizations and other foreign criminals “are a scourge on society resulting in an unstable and unsafe border and huge flows of illegal immigration in violation of U.S. law.”

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The Trump administration is attempting to amass a larger force of law-enforcement officials to help carry out deportations by granting agents across the federal government the same powers as an immigration officer, according to an internal memo seen by The Wall Street Journal.  

The memo, sent by acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman, says DHS is granting immigration-enforcement authority to several agencies at the Justice Department, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.  

The directive is the latest in a flurry of moves the Trump administration has taken this week to marshal the vast resources of the federal government to carry out the president’s signature campaign promise on immigration. Despite those steps, no large-scale immigration operations have yet materialized. 

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(a)Criminal penalties

(1)

(A)Any person who—

(i)

knowing that a person is an alien, brings to or attempts to bring to the United States in any manner whatsoever such person at a place other than a designated port of entry or place other than as designated by the Commissioner, regardless of whether such alien has received prior official authorization to come to, enter, or reside in the United States and regardless of any future official action which may be taken with respect to such alien;

(ii)

knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, transports, or moves or attempts to transport or move such alien within the United States by means of transportation or otherwise, in furtherance of such violation of law;

(iii)

knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation;

(iv)

encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law; or

(v)

(I)

engages in any conspiracy to commit any of the preceding acts, or

(II)

aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts,

shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).

(B)A person who violates subparagraph (A) shall, for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs—

(i)

in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(i) or (v)(I) or in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(ii), (iii), or (iv) in which the offense was done for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both;

(ii)

in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(ii), (iii), (iv), or (v)(II), be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both;

(iii)

in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) during and in relation to which the person causes serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of title 18) to, or places in jeopardy the life of, any person, be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both; and

(iv)

in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) resulting in the death of any person, be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined under title 18, or both.

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