Trump DOJ Prepares for Immigration Enforcement
According to a memo, the acting deputy AG instructed the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to assist with Trump's "immigration-related initiatives.”
TroibNews 
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove on Tuesday called for a significant reallocation of Justice Department resources towards immigration enforcement, which includes redirecting anti-terrorism squads.
In what could be considered one of the first decisive steps taken by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, Bove instructed the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces “to assist in the execution of President Trump’s immigration-related initiatives,” as noted in a DOJ-wide memo obtained by PMG.
This shift in focus may disrupt many of the task forces, given that many of their members are state and local police, some of whom are prohibited by sanctuary laws or policies from participating in immigration enforcement efforts.
Additionally, Bove urged U.S. attorneys to take legal action against “state and local actors” who resist, obstruct or “fail to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests.” The memo suggests the potential for charging state or local officials with harboring undocumented immigrants, as well as the risk of lawsuits against jurisdictions that attempt to limit police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
During Trump's first term, his administration made similar legal threats against state and local officials, though they acted on these threats only a limited number of times, resulting in mixed outcomes.
The memo, characterized as announcing “interim” changes, reflects the intent of senior DOJ officials to prevent any delays in action from career prosecutors.
“Declination decisions with respect to resistance, obstruction or other non-compliance with lawful immigration-related commands and requests from Federal Authorities shall be disclosed” to DOJ leadership through an urgent reporting channel, the directive specifies.
Bove’s memo also rolled back several modifications that the Biden administration enacted regarding criminal charging policies. He instructed prosecutors to “pursue the most serious, readily provable offense” against each defendant, reverting to a directive established in May 2017 by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Bove, a former federal prosecutor, was part of Trump’s legal team during the trial last spring in New York, where Trump faced hush-money related charges. He also contributed to Trump's defense in the federal cases in Washington concerning attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the case in Florida regarding classified documents kept at Mar-a-Lago.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead defense attorney in those cases, has been nominated to serve as Bove’s superior as deputy attorney general, but the Senate has yet to conduct a confirmation hearing for him.
Trump appointed Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general, a position that does not require Senate confirmation and is typically critical for managing the department's daily operations. Bove will serve as DOJ’s No. 2 official until Blanche's confirmation is completed.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
In what could be considered one of the first decisive steps taken by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, Bove instructed the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces “to assist in the execution of President Trump’s immigration-related initiatives,” as noted in a DOJ-wide memo obtained by PMG.
This shift in focus may disrupt many of the task forces, given that many of their members are state and local police, some of whom are prohibited by sanctuary laws or policies from participating in immigration enforcement efforts.
Additionally, Bove urged U.S. attorneys to take legal action against “state and local actors” who resist, obstruct or “fail to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests.” The memo suggests the potential for charging state or local officials with harboring undocumented immigrants, as well as the risk of lawsuits against jurisdictions that attempt to limit police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
During Trump's first term, his administration made similar legal threats against state and local officials, though they acted on these threats only a limited number of times, resulting in mixed outcomes.
The memo, characterized as announcing “interim” changes, reflects the intent of senior DOJ officials to prevent any delays in action from career prosecutors.
“Declination decisions with respect to resistance, obstruction or other non-compliance with lawful immigration-related commands and requests from Federal Authorities shall be disclosed” to DOJ leadership through an urgent reporting channel, the directive specifies.
Bove’s memo also rolled back several modifications that the Biden administration enacted regarding criminal charging policies. He instructed prosecutors to “pursue the most serious, readily provable offense” against each defendant, reverting to a directive established in May 2017 by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Bove, a former federal prosecutor, was part of Trump’s legal team during the trial last spring in New York, where Trump faced hush-money related charges. He also contributed to Trump's defense in the federal cases in Washington concerning attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the case in Florida regarding classified documents kept at Mar-a-Lago.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead defense attorney in those cases, has been nominated to serve as Bove’s superior as deputy attorney general, but the Senate has yet to conduct a confirmation hearing for him.
Trump appointed Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general, a position that does not require Senate confirmation and is typically critical for managing the department's daily operations. Bove will serve as DOJ’s No. 2 official until Blanche's confirmation is completed.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
