MEHLMAN: Shhh … Don’t Tell Anyone, But Mayorkas Just Abolished ICE
Ira Mehlman
Media Director, FAIR
October 18, 2021 11:20 AM ET
Over a two-week period, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 12, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas effectively abolished the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Doing away with the agency that apprehends and removes illegal aliens has become a rallying cry for the far left and was embraced by several contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination – although, notably, not Joe Biden.
ICE headquarters is still there on 12th St. S.W. in Washington, D.C. Dozens of field offices around the country remain. The 10,000 employees of the agency still collect paychecks. But as a result of two memos issued by Mayorkas, the agency’s immigration enforcement functions have virtually ceased to exist. To be clear, ICE wasn’t doing much even before Mayorkas issued his edicts – ICE agents were averaging one arrest every two and a half months – but now it’s official: ICE has been ordered to stand down.
Mayorkas’ first memo, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law, issued on Sept. 30, defines who, among the 15 million or so illegal aliens living in the U.S., ICE agents may arrest and put into removal proceedings. Under the guise of “setting priorities,” Mayorkas limits enforcement to just three categories of illegal aliens: Those who are deemed to be threats to national security, such as terrorists and spies; violent criminals; and those who entered the country after Nov. 1, 2020. And even these categories are smaller than they might appear.
https://dailycaller.com/2021/10/18/mehlman-shhh-dont-tell-anyone-but-mayorkas-just-abolished-ice/
