"As Americans reel from the Trump administration's violent raids and plead Democrats for action, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) announced on Thursday that his big demand for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill is to bar the agency from deporting U.S. citizens - a practice that is already illegal. In a press conference on Thursday, Jeffries said that he believes Democrats must demand "an explicit prohibition that DHS cannot detain or deport American citizens, period.""
"As many critics swiftly pointed out, it is already illegal for DHS to deport U.S. citizens. DHS is not given the authority to deport citizens aside from in fringe cases. "It's already illegal to deport US citizens. A 'ban' on doing that wouldn't change the law," said American Immigration Council fellow and former immigration lawyer Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on social media."
"Others criticized the announcement by pointing out that the issue with the Trump administration's immigration raids isn't the lack of legal guardrails - but rather the agency's explicit orders for agents to break the law and act above even the letter of the Constitution in order to carry out their raids. Related Story The deal - a major concession from Democrats - funds DHS and its immigration-related agencies for another two weeks."
A demand seeks an explicit prohibition barring DHS from detaining or deporting American citizens as part of DHS funding negotiations. Legal experts note deporting U.S. citizens is already illegal and that DHS generally lacks authority to deport citizens except in narrow fringe cases. Critics emphasize that the central problem involves directives for agents to violate the law and act above constitutional limits rather than a lack of statutory guardrails. A short-term funding deal funds DHS and immigration-related agencies for an additional two weeks during ongoing debates about enforcement and oversight.
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