WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday told staff it was reversing guidance issued last week that agents were not to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels and restaurants, the Washington Post reported late on Monday.
Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told leaders at the agency in a call Monday that agents must continue conducting workforce site immigration raids on agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, the newspaper reported, citing two sources familiar with the call.
The Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, had no immediate comment late on Monday.
An internal email reviewed by Reuters, a senior U.S. official and another source told Reuters late last week that President Donald Trump’s administration had directed immigration officials to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, restaurants and meatpacking plants.
Trump took office in January pledging to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. While Trump framed the effort around removing serious criminals, thousands of suspected immigration offenders with no criminal records have been swept up in recent months.
ICE’s more aggressive tactics – including raids in Los Angeles – have sparked protests.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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