White House seeks to ease fears over new immigration measures

The Trump administration sought to play down fears among immigrant communities yesterday as the department of homeland security announced broad new measures aimed to clamp down on illegal immigration.

The guidelines, which include a pledge to hire up to 15,000 extra immigration officials and border control staff, aim to speed up deportation hearings, though officials said it would not “go into communities and round up people”.

Immigrant groups have reported an increase in deportations since Mr Trump's inauguration, with public attention focused on individual cases such as the case of a 35-year-old mother of two who was deported to Mexico earlier this month after living for 21 years in the United States.

Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was convicted in 2008 for using a fake social security number and was arrested when she attended a routine check-in with immigration services in Phoenix, Arizona. She was deported the following day.

Trump administration announces new immigration measures

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The measures are designed to increase the capacity of immigration staff to implement deportations amid a huge backlog of cases going to court.

It also targets those who “have abused any programme related to receipt of public benefits”, as well as those with criminal records.

Travel ban

The proposal could face resistance from a number of “sanctuary cities” such as New York and San Francisco who have vowed to protect their undocumented immigrants and reacted with fury to the president’s controversial travel ban.

Mr Trump is expected to issue a new executive order on immigration as early as this week which could include an opt-out for green card holders. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that the White House was confident it would win the ongoing legal battle over Mr Trump's controversial January 29th order. The order has remained on hold following an adverse ruling by the ninth circuit court of appeal earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump condemned a recent spate of attacks that appear to have targeted the Jewish community, including the desecration of 170 Jewish graves in Missouri.

Speaking following a visit to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, Mr Trump said that the attacks were “horrible . . . painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.”

His comments, which were widely praised, follow criticism of Mr Trump for failing to mention Jews specifically during a recent statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Alleged links

Mr Trump, whose daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism on marrying her husband and Trump adviser Jared Kushner, said the incidents showed "why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its forms".

Meanwhile, newly appointed national security adviser Gen HR McMaster commenced his first official day in his role as the nation’s top security chief.

Gen McMaster was appointed by Mr Trump on Monday following the dismissal of Michael Flynn as national security adviser a week ago over his alleged links to Russia and failure to inform the White House about the contents of a phonecall with the Russian ambassador to the US while Mr Trump was still president-elect.

A veteran of the second Iraq war, Gen McMaster's appointment was well-received by both sides of the political divide. Although the 54-year-old is an experienced general, he has little experience of national politics.

Another Trump appointee, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, reportedly aimed to assuage concerns of staff by pledging to be both "pro-energy" and "pro-jobs".

Mr Pruitt’s appointment has been criticised by environmental groups. As attorney general of Oklahoma, he sued the EPA a number of times and is believed to be a climate change sceptic.