New DHS directive tells ICE agents that immigration status alone should not be basis for deportation

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued new directives to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers instructing them that migrants being in the country illegally “should not alone be the basis” for apprehending and deporting them.

Mayokas says the new directive, which goes into effect on November 29th, means ICE officers should not attempt to arrest and deport farmworkers, the elderly, and illegal immigrants who speak out at public demonstrations.

"Are we going to spend the time apprehending and removing the farmworker who is breaking his or her back to pick fruit that we all put on our tables?" Mayorkas said in an interview this week. "Because if we pursue that individual, we will not be spending those same resources on somebody who does, in fact, threaten our safety. And that is what this is about."