Migration: Hurdles to Deportations - Department Closes Departments

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Migration: Hurdles to Deportations - Department Closes Departments 22 hours • 1 minute read Trump closes critical departments at the Department of Homeland Security The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has closed three departments that dealt with civil rights and migrants. The Washington Post quoted a department spokeswoman as saying they were "a hindrance to immigration enforcement." The spokeswoman told the New York Times: "These departments have hindered immigration enforcement by creating bureaucratic red tape and undermining the mission of the immigration authorities." According to the Washington Post, the departments, with a total of about 300 employees, processed thousands of complaints and reports about the immigration system, detention conditions, and delays in processing citizenship applications. Their reports have been submitted to committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate, among others. The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump's administration is attempting to undermine oversight mechanisms at all government agencies to enforce its deportation policies, in some cases deporting people with little or no legal representation. Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee said, according to the New York Times, that Trump is shutting down yet another agency that could uncover "illegal and unconstitutional activity." A fired senior official told CNN that the shutdown, in this form without a plan, demonstrates a callous disregard for the rule of law and concern for the people who could be harmed by government overreach. (dpa)