Politics

DHS: We'll Only Deport Immigrants With Criminal Enterprise Connections

But two recent cases suggest Immigration and Customs Enforcement might not have gotten the memo.

DHS: We'll Only Deport Immigrants With Criminal Enterprise Connections
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The Trump administration says it will only deport undocumented immigrants involved in a "criminal enterprise."

That's according to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who says Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly personally assured him of the administration's policy.

According to the FBI, criminal enterprises are organized groups that engage in criminal activity.

But there are signs Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents might be taking a different stance on the issue.

In early February, Guadalupe García de Rayos, an undocumented immigrant who's a mother of two, was arrested when she went to check in with U.S. immigration officials — something she had done at least once a year for about eight years. 

Juan Carlos Hernandez Pacheco, an Illinois restaurant owner, was also arrested by ICE in early February. Now, he's facing possible deportation.

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Both have faced criminal charges in the past — de Rayos for criminal impersonation and Pacheco for drunk driving — but neither one is part of any known criminal enterprise.

Kelly also promised McAuliffe the administration would "absolutely not" undo the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which prevents the government from deporting children brought into the country illegally.

President Trump is expected to sign a new executive order on immigration later this week. It's a replacement for an earlier executive order that has been put on ice by the courts.