By Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration has directed federal prosecutors to criminally investigate state and local officials who attempt to resist its immigration enforcement efforts, according to a memo to Justice Department staff seen by Reuters.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing or otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” reads the memo, authored by Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, a Trump appointee.
The memo, dated on Tuesday, signals an aggressive stance on Trump’s hardline immigration policies by the Justice Department and raises the prospect of criminal charges for those who may interfere.
It said that state and local officials who resist or obstruct immigration enforcement could be charged under federal laws barring defrauding the United States or harboring immigrants who are in the United States unlawfully.
If prosecutors opt not to bring criminal charges following such investigations, they would be required to alert Justice Department leadership, according to the memo.
The memo also reinstated a policy dating back to Trump’s first administration, directing prosecutors to charge immigration crimes that could trigger the death penalty or mandatory minimum sentences.
Bove told Justice Department employees that the directive is a way to enforce the flurry of executive orders Trump signed on illegal immigration on his first day office. Trump, who campaigned on a promise of mass deportations, designated illegal immigration a national emergency and tasked the U.S. military with aiding broader security.
Bove also cited threats posed by international gangs and drug cartels.
“It is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the Constitution and, accordingly, to lawfully executive the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement,” the memo states.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham)
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