Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has sent a memo to the Justice Department workforce with orders to investigate “for potential prosecution” state and local officials who fail to comply “with lawful immigration related commands and requests” related to Trump’s enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The memo, obtained by NBC News, orders the Justice Department to devote more resources to enforcement of immigration laws and calls for the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security “to assist in the execution of President Trump’s immigration-related initiatives.”
Border czar Tom Homan has threatened that local officials would be thrown in jail if they resist mass deportations.
The memo orders the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Prisons to “review their files for identifying information and/or biometric data relating to non-citizens located illegally in the United States.”
“The Department of Justice will take all steps necessary to protect the public and secure the American border by removing illegal aliens from the country and prosecuting illegal aliens for crimes committed within U.S. jurisdiction,” the memo says. It orders the Justice Department to pursue every possible immigration violation and coordinate with federal courts to handle “the increased number of prosecutions that will result.”
The memo ends by ordering the department’s Civil Division to identify local and state laws and policies that prevent officials from cooperating with immigration authorities, such as sanctuary city laws, and “take legal action to challenge such laws.”