The Department of Justice (DOJ) is directing prosecutors to investigate and possibly charge local and state officials who do not comply with the administration’s immigration enforcement plans, report Maria Sacchetti and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post.
In a memo released Tuesday, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told DOJ employees, "Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands."
Some nuance as noted in a Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force post: While federal law requires agencies to share information regarding citizenship or immigration status, they aren’t required to collect such information. Nor must they share additional categories of information.
That translates to nuance on the ground, as Houston Harwood and Thomas B. Langhorne of the Evansville Courier & Press highlight. Evansville Police Chief Phil Smith said his department "is proud of its close relationships with Evansville's immigrant communities, and he does not want members of those communities to be fearful about approaching city police."
Local law enforcement officials in places such as Omaha, Nebraska (Cindy Gonzalez, Nebraska Examiner); Minnesota’s Twin Cities (Ivana Saric and Torey Van Oot, Axios Twin Cities); and Stockton, California (Lindsay Weber, KCRA) are saying they will not offer special assistance in mass deportation efforts.
Separately, under one of President Trump’s executive orders, the Pentagon is now sending 1,500 active-duty service members to the U.S.-Mexico border, report Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp of Associated Press. The Pentagon also will provide military aircraft for deportation flights, Baldor and Copp note.
Per internal government memos, about 10,000 troops ultimately could be deployed to assist at the border, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News.
We had a lively conversation (and great turnout) on our Facebook Live yesterday — catch up here. And welcome to Thursday's edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Broc Murphy, Clara Villatoro and Becka Wall.
If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
EXECUTIVE ORDERS — The Forum has a new explainer on the executive order suspending refugee admissions. Faith leaders are flagging that the order will block resettlement of persecuted Christians, reports Diana Chandler of Baptist Press. And flights to the United States for already approved refugees have been canceled, report Priscilla Alvarez and Haley Britzky of CNN. Under the separate order to close the border, Border Patrol agents are returning migrants crossing into the country without allowing them to request asylum, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News.
BAKERSFIELD — Early January Border Patrol raids in Bakersfield, California, caused turmoil in the agriculture community and offer a glimpse of the future, Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes. "We can all agree known criminals should be expelled from the United States, but it is crucial that future operations are communicated clearly to avoid causing any further alarm among our farmworkers," commented Rep. David Valadao (R-California).
SCHOOLS — Teachers are scrambling to protect their immigrant students after the Trump administration opened the door to potential immigration enforcement in schools, Sophia Rodriguez writes in ChalkBeat. "[Educators should help parents] prepare documents, list emergency contacts, and have a plan in place for kids if parents are detained or deported," Rodriguez advises. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Superintendent, Tony Watlington said his district will not let agents into schools without a warrant, reports Mike DeNardo of KYW Newsradio.
FAITH REACTIONS — The same change regarding "sensitive locations" affects churches, and faith leaders continue to push back, as a team at El Paso Matters reports. El Paso, Texas, Bishop (and Forum board member) Mark Seitz says the change "cynically [layers] a blanket of anxiety on families when they are worshiping God, seeking health care and dropping off and picking up children at school." Read more from Seitz directly from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
P.S. Yes, Americans support security and order, but a new survey reveals more nuance than that on immigration, report Amelia Thomson-Deveaux and Tim Sullivan of Associated Press. Samara Klar, a University of Arizona political science professor, shares similar nuance in her state with Lauren Gilger of KJZZ.
