IT BEGINS: TRUMP T***SITION TEAM SEEKS ALL AGENCY RECORDS ON BORDER WALL AND OBAMA IMMIGRATION ORDERS
Geoffrey Grider ~ Jan 3, 2016 ~ Now The End Begins
The t***sition team also asked for copies of every executive order and directive sent to immigration agents since Obama took office in 2009, according to the memo summarizing the meeting. Trump has said he intends to undo Obama's executive actions on immigration, including a 2012 order to allow children brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents to remain in the country on temporary authorizations that allow them to attend college and work.
IN A WIDE-RANGING REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS AND ANALYSIS, PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP’S T***SITION TEAM ASKED THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY LAST MONTH TO ASSESS ALL ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BORDER WALL AND BARRIER CONSTRUCTION.
The team also asked about the department’s capacity for expanding immigrant detention and about an aerial surveillance program that was scaled back by the Obama administration but remains popular with immigration hardliners. And it asked whether federal workers have altered biographic information kept by the department about immigrants out of concern for their civil liberties.
The requests were made in a Dec. 5 meeting between Trump’s t***sition team and Department of Homeland Security officials, according to an internal agency memo reviewed by Reuters. The document offers a glimpse into the president-elect’s strategy for securing the U.S. borders and reversing polices put in place by the Obama administration.
TRUMP WILL ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DEPORT TWO TO THREE MILLION I*****L I*******TS.
TRUMP’S T***SITION TEAM DID NOT COMMENT IN RESPONSE TO REUTERS INQUIRIES. A SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION DECLINED TO COMMENT.
In response to the t***sition team request, U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffers identified more than 400 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border, and about the same distance along the U.S.-Canada border, where new fencing could be erected, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Reuters could not determine whether the Trump team is considering a northern border barrier. During the campaign, Trump pledged to build a wall and expand fencing on parts of the U.S.-Mexico border but said he sees no need to build a wall on the border with Canada.
One program the t***sition team asked about, according to the email summary, was Operation Phalanx, an aerial surveillance program that authorizes 1,200 Army National Guard airmen to monitor the southern border for drug trafficking and illegal migration.
DONALD TRUMP LAYS OUT PLAN TO SECURE THE BORDER.
The program once deployed 6,000 airmen under President George W. Bush but was downsized by Barack Obama, a move blasted by some conservatives who argue the surveillance is vital to border security.
The t***sition team also asked for copies of every executive order and directive sent to immigration agents since Obama took office in 2009, according to the memo summarizing the meeting.
Trump has said he intends to undo Obama’s executive actions on immigration, including a 2012 order to allow children brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents to remain in the country on temporary authorizations that allow them to attend college and work.
The program, known as DACA, collected information including participants’ addresses that could theoretically be used to locate and deport them if the policy is reversed. Another request of the t***sition team was for information about whether any migrant records have been changed for any reason, including for civil rights or civil liberties concerns, according to the internal memo seen by Reuters.
A Department of Homeland Security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the agency interpreted the request to mean the t***sition team wanted to make sure that federal workers were not tampering with information to protect DACA recipients and other migrants from deportation.
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/begins-trump-t***sition-team-seeks-agency-records-border-barrier-obama-illegal-immigrant-orders/