Trump's total government deportation push
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The Trump administration is tapping multiple agencies for a whole-of-government campaign to achieve its goal of deporting millions.
Why it matters: Controversial tactics — ensnaring even legal U.S. residents and citizens — have raised alarm and triggered court battles over executive power.
Zoom in: The administration's playbook pulls several levers within the government beyond the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reached an agreement with DHS to share the tax information of undocumented immigrants with authorities.
- "DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it," per the agreement.
- Sharing the information could speed up immigration enforcement but may push undocumented immigrants to avoid paying taxes and turn to the informal economy.
Department of Justice
The DOJ is engaged in a number of headline-grabbing lawsuits over deportations.
- After admitting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was erroneously deported, the DOJ is still pursuing the case to keep him in El Salvador.
- The administration invoked the Aliens Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, defying a federal judge's court order. A federal judge Thursday ruled it unlawful.
- Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and a leader of Columbia's pro-Palestinian protests, is in ICE custody as the DOJ builds its deportation case against him.
Social Security
Social Security is also now an immigration enforcement tool.
- Hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the U.S. with "temporary parole" status — granted through various Biden-era programs — have received Social Security numbers to work.
- The Department of Homeland Security identified more than 6,300 of them who are on the FBI terrorist watch list, or with FBI criminal records, an official told Axios.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said last month that federal housing assistance will no longer be granted to undocumented immigrants or to "sanctuary cities"
- The department partnered with DHS to help identify undocumented immigrants living in publicly subsidized housing.
Department of Transportation
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that cities and states that give undocumented immigrants driver's licenses and those that are "sanctuary cities" will not receive federal funding.
- "You got to certify in your state or in your city to get road and bridge money or rail money that you are actually following the law," he said during a Cabinet meeting.
U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the USPS' law enforcement arm, has quietly started to cooperate with federal immigration officials in order to find undocumented immigrants, the Washington Post reported this week.
- "Immigration officials are seeking photographs of the outside of envelopes and packages ... and access to the postal investigation agency's broad surveillance systems," The Post notes.
Go deeper: Trump order targets "sanctuary cities"
