Director of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson will head for the Texas-Mexico border town of McAllen, Texas Friday in the wake of President Obama’s announcement regarding his immigration executive order. Johnson will be meeting with DHS employees for “workforce engagements,” presumably to discuss and/or explain the president’s order.
DHS posted the announcement of the trip on the agency’s website:
On Nov. 21, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson will travel to McAllen, Texas to participate in workforce engagements with Department of Homeland Security employees. Additional details will be forthcoming.
The AP is reporting that Johnson has already been telling agency employees that the president’s actions will “focus enforcement efforts on immigrants who are serious criminals — and those who crossed into the U.S. illegally or were ordered from the country in the last year.” The AP continues:
Johnson is detailing the plan to Homeland Security Department employees at three agencies in charge of enforcing immigration laws.
He says going after immigrants with serious criminal records, including adult gang members, will be an enforcement priority.
A lower enforcement priority will be immigrants with convictions for three or more misdemeanors or for “significant” misdemeanors. Johnson isn’t say what a significant misdemeanor is.
Johnson says the lowest priority will be immigrants who crossed the border illegally since Jan. 1, 2014, and those ordered to leave since that date.
